Traditional Chinese Medicines are medicines that are used under the principles and theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine which are used to prevent, cure and diagnose illness. They also have healing properties and health benefits. They include both natural and processed medicines. As almost 80% of Chinese medicines are from plants, Chinese medicines are therefore also known as herbal medicine (ben cao 本草).
To be classify as Chinese medicine, these medicine must have at least 3 or more of the following characteristics:
(A) Four properties (si qi 四气)
The four properties of Chinese medicines refer to the cold, hot, warm and cool natures of medicines. "Cool" and"cold" medicines are good for clearing away heat, detoxifying and nourishing the yin. "Warm" and "hot" medicines are used for expelling cold, improving blood circulation, invigorating the yang and the qi. There is also a mild nature of medicines, such medicines are unclear in their cold, hot, warm and cool, nature, or has a mild effect.
(B) Five flavours (wu wei 五味)
The five flavours implies to the authentic flavour of the medicines. These flavours are pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty. These flavours do not directly indicate the exact taste of the medicines, it refers to the effect and actions of the medicines.
(C) Meridian tropism (gui jing 归经)
The Meridian tropism (gui jing 归经) implies that certain medicines have special effects on the various organs, they are able to boost these organs and cure illness resulting from the organs. With this knowledge, we are able to identify therapeutic effects of a Chinese medicine on specific internal organs and meridians.
(D) Direction of medicinal action (sheng jiang fu chen 升降浮沉)
The direction of medicinal action refers to the direction of the action of the medicine.
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