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The internal organs of the human body can be summarized into five systems according to Zang-fu theory, Zang-fu, Yin-yang, and the exterior-interior relationship between them, is formed by the connection of their channels and collaterals. The five Zang organs have their own expression and their own relationship with other parts of the body, with mental activities, and the external environment. There is a corresponding link between the outward expressions and inner functions of the five Zang organs. Zang-fu organs theory puts stress on evaluating the physiological functions and pathological changes of the whole body by observing the external manifestations of the organs. An example of this manifestations could be assessed from the following signs and symptoms. For example, Ruddy complexion, mental clarity, a strong spirit, a rosy tongue, and a powerful and harmonious pulse demonstrate the Heart function is normal. If the signs and symptoms are the opposite, there may be Heart-Qi deficiency. It must be pointed out that the names used to describe internal organs in Chinese medicine are similar, or the same as the terms used in biomedicine. But all the concepts are not the same. For example, the functions of one organ in Chinese medicine may contain the functions of many organs in biomedicine. Meanwhile, the functions of one organ in biomedicine may be contained in the functions of several Zang organs in Chinese medicine. This is because the Chinese medical concepts of Zang-fu organs is not only an anatomical unit, but also a concept of physiology and pathology. The latter of the two is more important. For instance, the heart in Chinese medicine refers to the same anatomical entity as in biomedicine. In addition, however, it also refers to some of the functions of the nervous system and is connected to the spirit. The differences in the concepts between Chinese medicine and biomedicine are mainly due to the difference in the way of seeing things. Chinese medicine gathers its knowledge of the internal organs mainly from repeated practice and observation. Whereas in biomedicine it is based on the knowledge mainly on repeated autopsies, experiments, and summarizations. Hence, in learning the theory of Chinese medicine, concerning Zang-fu organs, one should have a clear idea of what it is about. And then make further inquiries and studies of it through the step by step adoption on biotechnical know-how and method so as to bring to light to its essence.

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In Chinese medicine, Zang-fu organs of human body can be classified into two major groups. The "five Zang organs" and the "six Fu organs". The five Zang organs include the Heart, the Liver, the Spleen, the Lung and the Kidney. The common characteristics of these five Zang organs are in preserving the vital substances. The six Fu organs are the Gallbladder, the Stomach, Large Intestine, the Small Intestine, The Urinary bladder and the Sanjiao. Their basic functions are transporting and digesting water and food. The human body is an integrated whole. All its tissues and structures are organically connected. And may be classified into two opposite aspects of Yin and Yang. When discussing Yin-yang and their relationship to the Chinese medicine perspective of the body's internal organs. The five Zang organs Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung and Kidney belongs to Yin. Their functions of preserving vital substances tend to be stable. The six Fu organs, Gallbladder, Stomach, Large intestine, Small intestine, Urinary bladder and Sanjiao belong to Yang. Their functions of transporting and digesting water and food tends to be active. The relationship between Yin and Yang also remains constant among the five Zang organs. The Heart and Lung, located in the Upper-jiao, are more Yang in nature. Because of their location, is anatomically higher than Liver and Spleen of the Middle-jiao. Or the Kidney, which is found in the Lower-jiao of the human body and is considered the most Yin in nature. When discussing Yin-yang and how they relate to all the organs, the functional aspect of the organs is yang and the substantial aspect is Yin. Further more, each of the Zang and Fu organs can be further divided into Yin and Yang. For example, Heart-yin and Heart-yang. Kidney-yin and Kidney-yang, Stomach-yin and Stomach-yang etc. When applying the concept of Yin-yang to the substances of Qi and Blood in the human body. Qi is Yang because it performs a kinetic, functional role in the human body. While blood is more material and physical in nature.

Yin-yang was originally included in the category of being an ancient philosophy of China. Yin-yang in the simplicity refers to whether a place is exposed to sun or shade. The place being exposed to the sun is warm by nature, so it belongs to Yang. The place not having exposure to the sun is cold in nature, so it belongs to Yin. Such as a mountain, the southern side belongs to Yang while the northern side of it belongs to Yin. Furthermore, through the process of long-term observation, practice and investigation of these original characteristics of Yin-yang, people have come to realize that Yin and Yang exist in all things. Their interaction promotes the occurrence, development, and transformation of all things. In consequence, Yin-yang is used as a means of reasoning and analyzing all phenomena in the physical world. The impact of the Yin-yang theory in the science of Chinese medicine, has promoted the formation and development of its own theoretical system. Yin-yang has become an essential component and a foundation of Chinese medicine theory. The content of Yin-yang theory can be described briefly by using the four aspects of opposition, interdependence, relative waxing and waning, and transformation. Opposition of yin-yang means that all the things and phenomena in the physical world, contain two opposite aspects. Now try to match these phenomena to the Yin Yang concepts: Yin-yang not only oppose, but also contain each other. Neither of them can exist on their own without the other. For instance, there can be no day without night, and vice versa. There's no outside without there being the presence of the inside, and vice versa. This relationship of co-existence is known as interdependence. Chinese medicine regards functional movement belongs to Yang and nourishing substance belongs to Yin. And that the one cannot exist without the other. For instance, the beating action of the heart belongs to Yang, while the heart organ, per se, belongs to Yin. Both need to exist for maintaining life. The opposition and interdependence of the Yin-yang are not stagnant. On the contrary, they are in a dynamic state. The constant cyclical change from day to night or the change in the seasons and temperatures is an example of this. Transformation means Yin-yang will transform into each other. Under certain conditions, Yin can transform into Yang and Yang can transform into Yin. If using the terms waxing and waning of Yin-yang, it is referring to the process of quantitative change. The terms transformation between Yin-yang is a process of qualitative change. Yin and Yang are in a constant state of division. Yin-yang can be still divided into another pair of Yin-yang. For instance, day is of a Yang nature and night is of a Yin nature. By both day and night can be divided even further. The period from dawn till noon is the Yang aspect of the day, Yang part of the Yang. And the period from noon till dusk is the Yin aspect of the day, Yin part of the Yang. The period from dusk till midnight is the Yin aspect of the night, Yang part of the Yin. It should be pointed out that the properties of the Yin or Yang and how they relate to things is not absolute. It's relative.

The term differentiation means comprehensive analysis. While the term syndrome refers to signs and symptoms. So differentiation of syndromes implies that the patient's symptoms and signs collected by the diagnostic methods in Chinese medicine are analyzed and summarized to identify the etiology, nature, and location of a disease. thereby determining what syndrome the disease belongs to. The term treatment refers to selecting the corresponding therapy according to the outcome of differentiating the syndromes. Taken as a whole, treatment by differentiation of syndromes means diagnosis and treatment based on the overall analysis of signs and symptoms. Concerning the relationship between disease and treatment, Chinese medicine can show two different categorical clinical manifestations based on the system of treatment by differentiation of syndromes. The first category is treating the same disease with different therapies. For example, influenza, from a Chinese medicine perspective, may be caused by a variety of different pathogens. Some common terms to describe these pathogens are, wind-cold, wind-heat or summer-heat. These syndromes, may also show signs of another pathogen, known as damp. Because there is more than one possibility of a diagnosis, the treatment approach can vary. This includes dispersing wind-cold, eliminating wind-heat, clearing away summer-heat, and dispelling dampness. The second category is based on treating different diseases with the same therapy. To elaborate, even though a disorder may have two different biomedicine disease diagnoses, if the Chinese medical pathology is the same, then the treatment will be the same. For example, ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction can occur due to various reasons from a biomedicine perspective. However, according to the principles of Chinese medicine, even though the biomedicine diagnosis may be different, If the ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction is caused by the Chinese medical syndrome known as blood stasis, then the treatment method of removing blood stasis will be used.

Yin yang is a splendid cultural concept in Chinese civilization. It represents the two fundamental principles or forces in the universe. Ever opposing and supplementing each other. Even today, Chinese medicine practitioners continue to apply these two concepts in daily practice. They are the foundation for explaining the physiological functions, pathological changes, diagnosis, and treatment of the human body.

The embodiment of Yin-yang is in every aspect of Chinese medicine theory. It is used to explain the physiology and pathology of the human body. It also serves as a principle guide to clinical diagnosis. Chinese medicine believes that the normal physiological function of the human body results from the unifying, opposing, and coordinating relationships between Yin and Yang. Yin-yang are always in the state of the dynamic union of the opposites. One of the classic theories of Chinese medicine states "Yin preserve the Essence", where "Yang transforms the Qi". This refers to a Yin being involved in the process of producing and preserving the life essence. While Yang is involved in the process of decomposing substance and releasing energy. Physiological function is based on substance. Without substance, including the essence of life, Blood, and Fluids, there would be no source for function. If the Yin-yang mechanisms of the body were to separate from each other and will not assist each other, life will come to an end. If the normal function of Yin preserving the Essence and Yang transforming the Qi were to break down, the human body would be in an abnormal state, resulting in the onset of disease. For example, Yin of the heart will be depleted when structural parts of the heart are damaged in a myocardial infarction. This will reduce the heart's ability to pump, which can be understood as the function of the Heart-yang. Because one of the basic pathogeneses of a disease is the imbalance of Yin and Yang, any disease, no matter how intricate and volatile its clinical manifestation, can be diagnosed with the theory of Yin-yang. Diseases are classified as Exterior and Interior according to their locations and as Cold, Heat, Deficiency, and Excess according to their nature. As a result, when using the Theory of Yin-yang, Exterior, Heat, and Excess are considered as Yang. Interior, Cold, and Deficiency are considered as Yin. In Chinese medicine, when making a diagnosis, the most important thing is to ascertain whether the disease is Yin or Yang. For example, in a case where Yang-Heat is exuberant and injures Yin-Fluids. The method of "Cooling what is Hot" requires the use of medicinal substances that are Cold in nature to reduce the surplus of Yang. For a case of excessive Yin-Cold, injuring the Yang-Qi, the method of "Heating what is Cold" requires the use of medicinal substances that are Hot in nature to restrain excessive Yin. Because both syndromes are both Excess syndromes, the therapeutic principles is called "Treating Excess syndromes with purgation". For a case of hyperactivity of Yang due to Yin-fluids failing to control Yang, or a case of exuberance of Yin due to depleted Yang-Qi failing to control Yin. The treatment must include reinforcing the deficiency of Yin or Yang. The therapeutic treatment principle of restoring a relative balance between Yin and Yang is treating Yin for Yang illness and treating Yang for Yin illness.

Chinese medicine pays much more attention to the unity and integrity of the body, and the interrelation between the human body and the outside world. The human body, as an organic whole, is composed of a number of visceral organs and tissues, which have their own respective functions. Every function, however, is a component of the body's overall activity. Meanwhile, man lives in nature, and nature provides conditions indispensable to man's survival. As a result, the human body is bound to be affected directly or indirectly by the changes in nature to which it is subjected. In the field of Chinese medicine, there is a saying, physicians have to know the laws of nature and geographical conditions when diagnosing and treating diseases. That is why Chinese medicine not only stresses the unity of the human body itself, but also attaches great importance to the interrelationship between the body and nature in diagnosis and treatment of a disease.

The theory of Chinese medicine developed and expanded mainly from long term repeated practice and experience. As early as four thousand years ago, the ancient Chinese created preventive medicine in their struggle with nature and disease. During the process of experimenting with indigenous plants and most minerals as food, they soon understood that some of these substance could relieve or even eliminate some diseases. From this came the development of Chinese herbal medicine and its applications. Using the power of fire to warm the body also came from those times of antiquity. The ancients found that applying heat to the stones or hot sand, wrap with leather, or certain types of bark, could relieve pain or discomfort. Gradually, they developed the method of using hot compresses and moxibustion. During the process of using stone and animal bones for use in the production of tools, they found that when one part of the body is penetrated, a disorder in another part of the body can be relieved. Hence the entrance created a method of using stone or bone needles for therapeutic use. From these, acupuncture was developed and soon after acupuncture channel theory.

This course aims to serve as an education platform on Chinese medicine (CM) for the general public. Our primary goal is to empower healthcare choices by promoting awareness and practical application on CM diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, as well as regulation on CM services and herbal products using international examples. In the first part of this course, learners will develop skills in applying basic theory of Chinese medicine (CM) for understanding health and illnesses, and be able to compare and contrast views from Chinese and western medicine perspectives. In the second part, learners will be able to diagnose their own CM body constitution, and to apply appropriate CM self-care practice including food therapy, acupressure, Baduanjin and meditation. Learners will also be able to identify commonly used Chinese herbs, and to describe the core principle of acupuncture. Specific competencies include: 1. State the basic theory of Chinese medicine and compare it with the principle of western medicine. 2. Apply the diagnostic approach of Chinese medicine and describe one’s body constitution. 3. Describe the core principle of Chinese herbs and acupuncture, and to understand their role in promoting health and wellness. 4. Develop self-care plan according to body constitution, using the practice of food therapy, acupressure, and Baduanjin.