A Comparative Study On Ancitnet Chinese And Western Health Preservation Thoughts And Practices

ObjectiveHealth preservation refers to a method of achieving longevity by nurturing life,strengthening physical fitness and defending against disease.In the period of the Warring States Period of China,the book Zhuangzi--Essentials for Health Preservation first mentioned the concept of body protection and life nurturing,which is the earliest written record of health preservation in ancient China.In the West,although there is no vocabulary to fully translate Chinese health preservation,the Western people have started early on the practice of health care.The famous Greek doctor Hippocrates first used the word Regimen in his book Hippocratic Corpus,which refers to a regulated system,as of diet,exercise or manner of living to promote health or achieve another beneficial effect.In summary,health preservation is not unique to traditional Chinese medicine,Western medical practitioners have long started the practice and research on it.Therefore,this thesis intends to summarize the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western health preservation thoughts and practices by comparing Chinese and Western medical literatures,and to comprehensively understand the history of human health care from a more more macro perspective and provide more useful knowledge on health preservation practices for all hunmanbeings.MethodsBy searching domestic and foreign databases,such as National Library of China?Library of Cogress?CNKI?Pubmed?Google Scholar and Google Library,the representative medical works of famous doctors in different historical periods in China and the West,and the academic research papers on the comparative studies of Chinese and Western health care thoughts and methods were systemically collected and logically summarized in order to discuss the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western health preservation thoughts and practices.ResultsTraditional Chinese medicine health preservation attaches importance to the integration of nature and human beings.Health preservation should be adjusted in advance with the natural seasonal climate and temperature changes,in order to achieve a harmonious relationship between human and nature and the internal health of the human body.At the same time,special emphasis is placed on the coordination of body and mind in health preservation.It is necessary to raise both the internal spirit and external body shape at the same time,and pay more attention to the mental health.Therefore,TCM health care thought is featured by overall concept,which includes the harmonious coexistence of man and nature,as well as the internal and external nurturing of the human body.The "four-body fluid balance" thought put forward by Hippocrates in the ancient Greek era is the consistent principle of Western medical practitioners in disease treatment and health care.It also has a certain overall view.It holds that health is affected by factors such as people's lifestyle,psychological state,natural environment,diet,exercise,etc.,and the four fluids(blood?mucus?yellow bile and black bile)in the body can be balanced and adjusted in different ways,which can well maintain the health of the individual.However,beginning in the Western Renaissance,medical scientists attached importance to the relationship between the internal structure and health of the human body,the overall health view were gradually replaced by modern health thoughts with obvious local features.Through a comparative study of Chinese and Western health preservation practices,we found that the similarities between the two sides are that the means of health care are comprehensive and part of the content is consistent.For example,both sides attached importance to the role of diet and exercise in health preservation,and have carried out a large number of practices in these two areas.However,due to the differences in culture and geography between the East and the West,especially the guiding ideology of health care,the focus of health preservation practice is different.In terms of diet,Chinese dietetics pays attention to the combination of five flavors,but the taste of food in the West is rarely discussed.Second,both Chinese and Western medicine dietetics put forward the concept of "let the food be the medicine and let the medicine be the food or food and medicine homology".Chinese medicine emphasizes the idea of " food first,medicine second ",but this concept has not formed a consensus in Western health care practice.In terms of exercise,Chinese medicine advocates “combination of dynamic and static,physical and mental exercise together”,but the West emphasizes that “physical fitness are good for health and sports are the main guide”.In terms of spiritual health,the difference between China and the West is very obvious.Traditional Chinese medicine involves mental health and emotional adjustment in both aspects,and the means are comprehensive and systematic.The West medicine pays more attention to the role of religious beliefs in mental health care.In terms of environmental health,the differences between Chinese and Western health practices are also relatively obvious.Traditional Chinese medicine advocates that human beings should take the initiative to adapt to natural changes,and carry out comprehensive and active environmental health practice from three aspects: adaption to climate change,choice of habitat and management of room environment.Although Western environmental health care has made achievements in the early days,especially in the ancient Roman period,in which the public health undertook well.However,after entering the Middle Ages,the passive concept of environmental health care led to an overall decline in the health quality of the Western population.Although the government issued many health laws and regulations to improve the urban environment and promote the health of residents,it has had little effect.In addition,the West attaches great importance to bloodletting therapy,which is a health care method that has been popular in the West for two thousand years.However,Traditional Chinese medicine only practiced it for medical purpose This is one of the most obvious differences between Chinese and Western health preservation practice.ConclusionBased on the comparative study of Chinese and Western health preservation thoughts and practices,this research has achieved preliminary results.Different medical development tracks in China and the West have bred different guiding ideologies and practice for health preservation.The TCM health preservation thought has a clear overall view,and it has been passed down from the ancient to the present.Although the western health preservation thoughts also had a holistic view in the early days,they have gradually been replaced by modern health care thoughts with obvious local characteristics since the Renaissance period.As far as practice is concerned,health preservation practice of TCM is comprehensive and systematic,emphasizing the health effects of diet,exercise,spirit and environment.However,Western practice focuses on the health effects of diet,exercise and bloodletting therapy.