奇速英语

中药备受国外友人青睐

What comes to a foreigner’s mind when speaking of China? Not martial arts(武术) or Peking opera, but traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).

Chinese Foreign Languages Publishing administration did a survey in 2015, asking 9500 foreigners in G20 countries about China’s national image. Half of them chose TCM.

TCM has a 3,000-year history in China. It is based on the Chinese philosophy(哲学) of yin and yang. It looks at humans and nature as a unity(统一). So to keep healthy, we should follow the laws of nature. For example, it is time to sleep at 11:00 pm, because yin power starts to recover by then. If you often stay up late, your body will lose balance and catch illness.

TCM and the Chinese philosophy about humans and nature have gone global in recent years. People in 183 countries and regions are now using TCM therapies(疗法), according to China’s first white paper on TCM. You may have noticed the round, purple marks on the shoulders of US swimmer Michael Phelps at the Rio Olympics this summer. He was using the TCM cupping(拔火罐) therapy. It made headlines across the world.

One of the reasons behind the growing popularity of TCM is the increase of scientific research into it. Last year, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize for discovering an anti-malaria drug(抗疟药). She used a plant long used in traditional medicine.