History of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)

[guohua]

OK, just had a Jim Beam and Coke another setting in front of me, I'm Ready!  

Tastes of herbs
1.Pungent  2.Sweet  3.Bland  4.Sour  5.Salty  6.Bitter 
What used for.
1.Pungent ---Dispersing ,Moving, Scattering
2.Sweet ---Tonify, harmonizes
3.Bland ---Leaches out dampness, promotes Urination
4.Sour ---Collecting, astringing
5.Salty---Mildly, descends
6.Bitter---purges, dries, descends 

Classification of herbs
Qi herbal-( Tonify Qi, regulate Qi, move Qi…)
—Blood Herbals-( invigorate BD, move BD, cool BD, stop Bleeding…)
—Drain Dampness Herbs -( Drain damp, promote urination, dry damp…)
—Yin herbals -( Tonify yin, generate yin, nourishing yin…)
—Yang herbals -( Tonify yang( Sp yg, KD yg), warm yang, left yang Qi, left yang  collapse …)
—Woman herbs-( regulate menstruation, infertilities, lection…)
—Men herbs- ( yang deficient…)

Classification of Formula
Formulas that Release the Exterior, release cold, wind heat.
—Formulas that Clear Heat, Clear Heat from the Qi Level, Clear Heat from the Nutritive Level and Cool the Blood, Clear Heat & Relieve Toxins, Clear Heat from Organs, Clear Heat from Deficiency and Relieve Summer Heat.
Drain Downward, Purge Heat Accumulation, Moisten Intestines and Unblock the Bowels, Warm the Yang and Guide Out Accumulations and Drive Out Excess Water.
—Tonify, Tonify the Qi -<<Si Jun Zi Tang>>; ingrdiens- ren shen, bai zhu, fu ling, gan cao, Tonify the Blood -<<si Wu Tnag>>: ingradians, Tonify the Qi & Blood -<<, Ba zhen tang>>,
Nourish and Tonify the Yin -<< mai men dong tang>> and Warm and Tonify the Yang-<< jin gui shen qi wan>>.

How to apply herbal formula to patients
looking(Wang)望 
Spirit, face, eye, nose, ears, mouth, lips, teeth,  throat, Tongue( body, coating),Physical   characteristics of the body)
—
—Listening and Smelling( Wen)闻
sounds, odors

—Asking( wen)问
Chief complaint, current health conditions, and health history
—
—Touching ( Palpation)(Qie)切 
Radial pulses, Abdomen, Meridians, and other body areas

Diagnose disease, determine pattern
Use zang fu theory--( 5 zang , 6 fu)
—8 princible--( Hot/cold,-/+,yin/yg/, Ex/Interior)
—4 leveles--( Wei, Qi, Nutritive, BD)
—6 stages--( yang ming, Tai Yang, Sao Yang, Tai yin, Shao yin, Jue Yin)
—3 jiao --( Upper Jiao, Middle Jiao, Lower Jiao)
—5 elements—( wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water)

Disease pattern matching herbal category  and pattern
Hot disease à formula with cool, or cold herbs( Ex/In, -/+, yin/yg)
—Cold diseaseà Formula with hot, or warm  herbs
—Deficient diseaseà Tonify formula
—Excess diseaseà formula with drain damp, or clear heat, or purge heat, Transform phlegem herbs.

OK, I'm done for now, Hope this helps.