Waiting for the Traditional Chinese Medicine class, I sit outside a skyscraper in the Central District. I eat pre-peeled oranges and wonder if any other tourist is so lucky. Over my shoulder, a man is frowning. Jealousy? I think he wants my orange slices. Based on his ugly look, I think he needs some yin medicine quick... I finish eating and head to class.
The class, hosted by Eu Yan Sang
(余 仁 生, which means “Eu” - the founder Eu Kong Pai – “caring for mankind”) outlines some of the basic ideas of Tradtional Chinese Medicine while offering promotional time for the expensive TCM pharmacy.
Important points:
Yin and Yang (陰 陽).
Yin = female, darkness, cold, water
Yang = male, brightness, heat, fire
Together they represent the balance and harmony of chi (energy,) in life. The two are inseparable and mutually dependant. Both are strongest where the other is weakest. When one is in excess, the other recedes. Each is transmutable into its opposite. The seed of either rests at the heart of the opposite's strongest, thickest point.
The yin and yang symbol, known as taijitu (太 極 圖), represents the ideal balance of yin and yang.
Traditional Chinese doctors, referred to as TCM practitioners in the States, inspect the balance of chi in a person by looking at the patient's tongue, feeling the pulse, examining breathing patterns and whites of the eyes, and through conversation about the ailment.
I had a special opportunity to experience this traditional check-up earlier in my trip.
According to TCM, illness results from an imbalance of yin and yang. If the patient is too hot, or has too much yang, the doctor prescribes cooling yin medicine (which could be sour, bitter or salty in flavor, astringent and subsisting). If the patient is too cold, vice versa; yang medicine is prescribed (which could be pungent or sweet in flavor, dispersing and floating).
A cough or sneeze is caused by excess cold or yin. Traditional Chinese Medicine could suggest donggui as a yang remedy.
While acne is an example of excess heat or yang. American ginseng could be prescribed (although, be careful not to take Chinese or Korean ginseng instead).
The distinction between Asian and American ginseng, I think is the most interesting point in the class. Mary Chang, the class instructor and pharmacist for Eu Yan Sang, explains that three types of ginseng exist:
1. Chinese ginseng (panax ginseng, or 紅 蔘): harvested after 5-6 year, properties are increased strength and reguvination, yang medicine
2. Korean ginseng (高 麗 蔘): harvested after 7 years, properties are increased blood circulation and physical strength, yang medicine
3. North American ginseng (panax quinquefolium, 西 洋 蔘): harvested after 4 years, provides energy, good for stress, insomnia, indigestion, dry throat, mental tiredness, acne and menopausal depression, yin medicine
* Also: wild ginseng, which is left in the ground longer, offers a more potent substance of any of the three).
Ms. Chang also explains the significance of bizarre foodstuffs, i.e. medicines, such as lingzhi 靈 芝(ganoderma mushroom, good for immune system), cordycepts 冬 蟲 夏 草(a caterpillar killed by fungus in its cocoon, good for fighting fatigue), donggui 當 歸(good for ailments of the uterus), tian qi 田 七(lowers cholesterol), deer antler 鹿 茸(only from certain types of deer, good for treatment of impotence) and birds nest 燕 窩(swallows' nests, made of saliva and rich in protein, good for skin).
After the class is over, she takes us downstairs to buy Eu Yan Sang’s products. I walk away with a free bag of herbal throat lozenges.
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