Traditional Chinese Medicine

English 2 (ESP 0205) Research Paper

Hng Xuan Ning(0310110) Lim Fang Shiuan(0310399) Wong Zi Xiu(0309732) Xavier Ooi(0307620)

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Table of Contents No. 1 2 3 4 Title The Research Proposal Report Biblography Appendix Page no.

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The Research Proposal

Name: Hng Xuan Ning, Lim Fang Shiuan, Wong Zi Xiu, Xavier Ooi Class: English 2 Period: TUES &THURS

INTRODUCTION: Our research is about the Traditional Chinese Medicine businesses in Klang. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. How old is the shop? Which generation is currently handling the business since the business started? How many kinds of herbs do the shop has? Which kind of people that come and buy the TCM? What makes the shop famous? What is the good of TCM? How is the business lately? What do the customers mainly buy? Where do you get the herbs from? Why are you doing this business? Where are you from? What is the most expensive herbs in the shop? Are you a TCM practitioner?

METHODOLOGY: We planned to carry out the research by interviewing the owners of the shops. We prepared a list of questions and noted down the answers and other important information. CONCLUSION: We hope to get a lot of information regarding the shops, the owners, and TCM. We also hope that the interviews can be carried out well.

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Report
English two was one of the most enjoyable subjects in semester two. As the final assignment, we were given a task to research on a type of business that is at least fifteen to twenty years of experience. The site that we were required to research on was Klang. We decided to research on traditional Chinese medicine. We took this opportunity to research on traditional Chinese medicine because we think that traditional Chinese medicine is slowly fading out in the modern era. As we all can see, western medicine is developing at great efficiency in terms of speed and effectiveness making them to take over the market as the monopoly. People are more likely to use western medicine as it provides faster recovery compared to traditional Chinese medicine that is slower. Besides that, western and modern Chinese medicine comes with pills and liquid form that has different flavor making it is easy to be consumed especially for kids , while traditional Chinese medicine need to be boiled for long hours, it is a waste of time as when it comes to recovering from illness, every second counts. Besides that, the taste and the smell of traditional Chinese medicine is quite strong, making younger generations refuse to take it even before looking at it. Teenagers nowadays are not only interested in Chinese medicine, but also reluctant to consume any bit of if as they find it dull, disgusting and useless. These are the reasons why many of the traditional Chinese medicine shops close down as they have no newer generation to succeed their businesses. Traditional Chinese Medicine is a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, exercise, and dietary therapy. During the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, with the development of economy and culture and the

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improvement of material civilization, people had already begun paying attention to the health care and the prevention of disease. (Chen & Wang, 1999, p. 25) The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in books such as the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon (Huang Di Nei Jing) and the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorder (Shang Han Lun), as well as in cosmological notions like yin-yang and the five phases. Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperors Inner Canon) is the earliest and most important written work of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It was compiled over 2,200 years ago during the Warring States period (475-221 BC) and is regarded as the fundamental and most representative medical text. (UNESCO, 2011) TCM therapeutics principles: to prevent diseases before its onset, to focus on the principal cause of disease, to restore the yin-yang balance by proper regulation, to stress the overall regulating of qi and blood in treatment and proper therapies are decided according to individually. (Men and Guo, 2010, p. 14) TCM's view of the body places little emphasis on anatomical structures, but is mainly concerned with the identification of functional entities such as regulating digestion, breathing and aging. Health is perceived as harmonious interaction of these entities and the outside world, disease is interpreted as a disharmony in interaction. (Wu & Fischer, 1997) TCM diagnosis consists in tracing symptoms to patterns of an underlying disharmony, mainly by palpating the pulse and inspecting the tongue. It can also be done by looking at Shen(Spirit), and body(appearance). (Chen, 2004) By doing so, the practitioner can determine the overall state and prognosis of an imbalance. Observation is very important in TCM therapies, as by observing, the TCM practitioner can find out what is wrong about the patient and provide treatment according to the constitution of an individual. When Yin is stabilized and Yang well-conserved, the spirit will be in harmony; separation of Yin and Yang results in exhaustion of essential Qi. (Zhu & Wang, 2010, p. 25) Yin and Yang represent two abstract and complementary aspects that every phenomenon in the universe can be divided into. Primordial analogies for these aspects are the sun-facing (yang) and the shady (yin) side of a hill. Two
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other commonly used representational allegories of yin and yang are water and fire. Yin and Yang are infinitely divisible. Why is it so? As there is Yin-Yang within Yin and Yang. Between Yin and Yang also has a dynamic mutual transforming relation. As the situation changes, Yin can transform into Yang and the other way around. Yin and Yang are not only in opposition but also in unity. The balance of Yin and Yang eventually leads to harmony. The concept of Yin and Yang can also be applied to human body. For example, the upper part of the body and the back are assigned to yang, while the lower part of the body is believed to have the yin character. Yin and yang characterization also extends to the various body functions, and more importantly to disease symptoms (e.g., cold and heat sensations are assumed to be yin and yang symptoms, respectively). The deficiency of Yin will lead to Yang diseases and the deficiency of Yang will lead to Yin diseases. (Zhu & Wang, 2010, p. 25) Five Phases Theory is equally important in TCM. Five Phases Theory can also be translated as the "Five Elements" theory, presumes that all phenomena of the universe and nature can be broken down into five elemental qualities represented by wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Strict rules are identified to apply to the relationships between the Five Phases in terms of sequence, of acting on each other, of counteraction etc. The five phases mutually engender one another. Wood engenders fire, fire engenders earth, earth engenders metal, metal engenders water and, water engenders wood. The five Phases also mutually restrain one another. Wood restrains earth, earth restrain water, water restrain fire, fire restrains metal, and metal restrain wood. (Bob, Micheal & Timothy, 1994, p. 16, 17) All these aspects of Five Phases theory constitute the basis of the zang fu concept, and thus have great influence regarding the TCM model of the body. Five Phase theory is also applied in diagnosis and therapy. The primary functional entities used by traditional Chinese medicine are Qi, Xue(Blood), the five Zang(five viscera) organs, the six Fu(six bowels) organs, and the meridians which extend through the organ systems. These are all theoretically interconnected: each Zang organ is
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paired with a Fu organ, which are nourished by the blood and concentrate Qi for a particular function, with meridians being extensions of those functional systems throughout the body. Herbal Medicines are usually used in TCM. Typically, one batch of medicines is prepared as a decoction of about 9 to 18 substances. Some of these are considered as main herbs, some as ancillary herbs. Within the ancillary herbs, up to three categories can be distinguished, raw materials, animal substances and human body parts. The main medications used are examining the pulse and tongue and also the use of acupuncture. Other minor therapies used in TCM are Tui na, Qi gong, Cupping, Gua sha, Tie da. All these treatments are used to harmonize the Yin and Yang, to regulate the Qi and also vitalize the Xue. In the Traditional Chinese Medicine viewpoint, a healthy person has a balanced and harmonious Yin and Yang.

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During our entire journey in Klang, we had a chance interview three of the oldest traditional Chinese medicine shops. The shops are 'Thye San', 'Thye Loy' and 'Thye Fung'. Our very first shop that we came across was Thye San. We then started interviewing the owner of 'Thye San', 'Thye San' has more than 12 years of business experience in this line. The business has been passed down to the second generation that is the current owner of the business. The owner of the shop is a traditional Chinese medical doctor himself where he studied in Guangzhou, China back in his younger age. He studied about traditional Chinese medicine there. Once back in Malaysia, he then decided to start this business as he has loadfull of knowledge and interest towards this field. His shop has seven hundred to eight hundred types of traditional herbs. The most expensive herb in his shop is ginseng. We also questioned him on where sis he get his herbs from or do he create his own type of medicine. According to him, he buys raw herbs from an agent that import herbs from China and premix them together to cure certain specific illness. Besides selling herbs, he also sell groceries such as breads, drinks, sesame seeds, liqour and many more for the convenience of his customers. Customers that buy herbs from him come from all types races. Most of them come for herbs and soup ingredients that are used to make Chinese herbal soup and herbal drinks. The owner also stated that traditional Chinese medicine can cure almost all types of sickness without having any side effects. Anyone can drink herbal drinks even though they have no sickness as it is also good for health. The owner also said that the business is not as good compare to the olden days. This makes the economy not bright these
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few years. The main reason is because the western and modern Chinese medicine is taking over the market. Many older generation patients still seek him for medication as they trust him to be more experienced in this traditional Chinese medicine line. We also got to ask and interview a few of his customer and most of the customers that seek for medication from him told us that the owner is a good traditional medication doctor and they will always come back looking for him not only to seek for curing illness but for chit-chatting. This is because, many of his customers like to listen to his olden days stories of his lives and how many thanked him for saving their lives. Moreover, they also said that he is a good listener and adviser. His shop is always filled with laughter as the old folks enjoy themselves there very much.

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Later that day, as we walked around Klang town, we found and interviewed the second shop named 'Thye Loy'. 'Thye Loy' has over twenty years of history in business and medication. Same as 'Thye San', it has been passed to the second generation as they remain as family business. This, the second shop, provides more than a thousand types of herbs. The most valuable item would be antler (deer) and 'chang bai san' ginseng, it costs approximately four thousand each. Customers that visits this shop comes from all races, majority of them are Chinese following by Malays then Indians. Many of the customers come for the cure of 'huang dan bing' also known as jaundice. Jaundice is a sickness is caused by hyperbilirubinemia. Jaundice is often seen in liver disease such as hepatitis or liver cancer. Many patients that have that sickness ware told by hospitals that their sickness are unable to be cured. They came to seek for help and advice then go for second solution into trying traditional medicine. Some of the patients illness cured after consuming the traditional Chinese medicine that was recommended for a period of time. The best part of these traditional medicines is that there is no side effect even after recovering. As expected, the business is quite bad these few years. It got worse when there were less foreigners coming in to town, making their business limited to the old folks surrounding. For

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now, the business has reaches its lowest peak and there is no sign of recovery in this business soon.

'Thye Fung' was the last shop we interviewed. This shop started its business in the year of 1971. This shop has been operating for forty one years. Before moving to the current shop, there was another shop that was at origin of this business right opposite of the Klang River. It moved to the new location ten years back. This business also has been passed to the second generation. The owner stated that he is also training his children so that they will be well prepared to take over the business. The first owner that started this business studied herbs for the entire journey of his life making him to start off with this business having intention to help those in needs of illness. This shop also has more than a thousand of herbs available,

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herbal tea has the highest demand from customers as it is good for health no matter whether you are sick or not. Customers can get the medicine with recipes provided by the owner. The owner also sells herds that are already premixed in a set so that it is more convenient and can attract more

customers. The most expensive herbs in the shop is cordyceps, it costs roughly five thousand each, depending on the weight. Cordyceps are good for lungs infection, coughing and helps almost the entire body. Same as the other shops, its customer comes from all races. We also got the opportunity to ask the customers why they would want to continue consuming traditional Chinese medicine compared to the modern or western medicine. The answer given were because there are no side effects after consuming traditional Chinese medicine and they can take as much as they want to be healthy without worrying anything wrong will happen to them. When we asked the owner how the business is going on these days, his also gave the same expression of answer as well. He says that his business has drop drastically for more than 30% over the years and the reasons given was the same as the two shops we interviewed before this. He said that he hoped that more people will educate themselves about the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine and support it. He also wished and hoped that traditional Chinese medicine will not extinct in the future. Traditional Chinese medicine is a huge role in the Chinese culture, but people in the moderns days are starting to forget about it, making it to slowly fading away from the modern world. After researching on
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traditional Chinese medicine, we found out that it is way better than western and modern Chinese medicine. Even though it takes a long period of time to recover by consuming traditional Chinese medicine but it has no side effects and all cells do not just die off compared to the western antibiotic medicine that has side effects. We think that the government should have some campaign to promote or increase the popularity of the importance of traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese should also promote the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine to the surrounding people. This is to let people know the benefits of it and that traditional Chinese medicine still exists in the modern world. We ourselves should also support the traditional Chinese medicine by buying it and advertise them to our family and friends. We really hope that this culture will survive in the modern world and even in the future.

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Biblography
Bob, F., Micheal, J., Timothy, R. (1994) Statements of Fact in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Boulder: Blue Poppy Press Chen, P., & Wang, Z. G. (1999). History and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Beijing: Science Press Chen, P. (2004). Diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Taos: Complementary Medicine Press. Men, J. Z. & Guo, L. (Eds.). (2010). A General Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Boca Raton: CRC Press UNESCO, 2011. Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperors Inner Canon). [online] Available at <http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/flagship-project-activities/memory-of-theworld/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-4/huang-di-nei-jing-yellow-emperorsinner-canon/> [Accessed 20 January 2013] Wu, Y., Fischer, W. (1997). Practical Therapeutics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Taos: Paradigm Publications. Zhu, B. & Wang H. C. (Eds.). (2010) Basic Theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine. London & Philadelphia: Singing Dragon

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Meeting Title

MINUTES
MEETING CALLED BY

20 DECEMBER 2012

8PM-10PM

XAVIERS HOUSE

Xavier Ooi Win Yang Project Meeting Minute Hng Xuan Ning Wong Zi Xiu Lim Fang Shiuan Xavier Ooi Win Yang, Hng Xuan Ning, Wong Zi Xiu, Lim Fang Shiuan

TYPE OF MEETING

FACILITATOR

NOTE TAKER

TIMEKEEPER

ATTENDEES

Agenda topics
8PM-8.30PM
DISCUSSION

HOW TO DO THE REPORT

WONG ZI XIU

Brainstorming on how to do the report We decided to break the report into few parts and everyone do his own part of the

CONCLUSIONS

report and we will combine the works together

ACTION ITEMS PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

Dividing report into few part

8.30PM-10PM
DISCUSSION

H,ng Xuan Ning

25-12-12
LIM FANG SHIUAN

Dividing the info we got from Klang and extra information for the report We successfully divided the info and assign someone to find extra info from the net
PERSON RESPONSIBLE DEADLINE

CONCLUSIONS ACTION ITEMS

Getting extra information form the web

Lim Fang Shiuan

25-12-12

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