Chinese medicine broke out of alchemistry and philosophy between the year 200 BC and 200 AD, sprouting from the first cosmological theories that appeared in the period from the 6-1st BC.

First 'doctors' were shamans like elsewhere in the world, and already in the 6th BC were differentiated from the wondering shamans. Already in the 1BC the corpus equal to the Hypocrites' one in the West was written, called Huangdi Neijing, the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine that accumulated in the form of dialogues the clinical experience up to that time. First hospitals were built at that time, and already in the 7th century AD in the Tang dynasty the Imperial College for Medicine were established.

Western medicine versus Chinese medicine
It is quite common on the West that doctors practice medicine without having any philosophical background, whereas in the East, particularly in China, philosophy is the starting point for any medical practice.

Concept of duality is among the main concepts that differentiate the Chinese medicine from the Western one. Already in the 2bc the theory existed that every sickness is the result of the lack of the misbalance between the yin and the yang.

Medical practice was strictly controlled owing to the traditional Confucian system of bureaucracy and most of the heritage is preserved up to day, particularly in the field of herbal medicine. However, the real influencing factor was the Daoist philosophy and the belief that Man should live in accordance with the Nature, being one of the main reasons for attaching high importance to the prevention.

Human body -a microcosms and a gift
It is believed that the human body is made of yin and yang elements and when there is a balance between the two, there is no disease. Body corresponds to the 5 elements in the universe. Main centers of the body are heart, kidneys, lungs, spleen and liver. Each of the organs corresponds to the political functions in the society as well - heart is the ruler (in contemporary Chinese the word 'psychology' stands both 'science of the heart / mind' equally), lungs are the integrator and responsible that everything would function, liver is the army general, pericardium is the ambassador and kidneys are secretaries.
Every part of the body corresponds to a certain season, color and taste.

All the pathological phenomena could be explained through developments and changes in nature and the body is always observed as a whole - organs and parts of the body are never treated separately but always regarding the entire body and the balance between it's parts.
Every body is entity for itself and is observed in the broader context of the living conditions, season of the year and the environment. Different medicines are prescribed to two people that have the same diagnosis and different background, internal and external conditions.

According to the Confucian theory, body is a precious gift and should be brought back to grave as it is received from the parents - it was thus, strictly forbidden to physically hurt Confucian scholars.

Yin and yang
The theory holds that every phenomenon in the universe consists of these two forces that oppose and complement each other.
The origin of the two principles is observing the changes between day and night. Every phenomenon has it's yin and yang aspects, but the division itself is relative - for example, the glass of cold water is yin towards the glass of hot water, but it becomes yang towards the glass of hot water; the surface of the body corresponds to yang and the inner organs to yin, and in the same time the front part of the body is yang whereas the back is - yin.

Five elements
The theory assumes that the material world is made up of five elements - metal, wood, water, fire and earth. They are interdependent and inter-restraint which determines their state - the state of constant changes.

Qi is the vital energy, the fluid, material force. In the ancient times it was connected to the fog, evaporation (traditional Chinese character etymologically originates from the evaporation over rice-cooked food).
Birth of a Man is the accumulation of the qi - when qi is accumulated life is created and when it spreads, life is finished.
Qi brings changes to nature - in the early philosophical texts, the word used instead was 'wind' - "When wind blows, something is happening"

Prevention and the care of the body
Hellenistic ideal of the athletic body was never predominant in Chinese traditional culture nor in the East in general. Ideal that was developed, instead is the ideal of parallel development of body and soul with the help of ascetic life. It was believed that leading a correct day-to-day life could prevent all the diseases.

Diagnosis
There are bout 15 kinds of diagnostic methods including the pulse diagnosis, tongue, nails, voice, smell, heart-beats, complexion etc. and they could be focused into the 4 main methods: observing, palpating, inquiring and listening.

Main therapeutic treatments include: acupuncture, moxibution, massage, accupressure, gymnastic exercises, diet, herbal medicines etc.

Acupuncture
The origin of the method is unclear - it might have originated from the habit of sticking needles into the body to chase the demons; it is believed that the acupuncture for the medical use dates back to the 3 BC, when the first practicers sticked needles into the painful spots of the body in order to release the blood.
There are 365 main acupuncture spots along the main 12 meridians of the body. Meridians are the net that connects all the parts of the body. The main purpose of the acupuncture is to direct the energy and reach the state of balance by reducing the energy on the places where it is superfluous and increase it at the places where it lacks. Considering the fact that all the organs and parts of the body are connected, it is enough to press just one of the spots and all the rest would be influenced.
According to the ancient medical literature, the first needles were made of a sharp flat stone and with the development of metallurgical techniques metal needle took over gradually. ..