The development of the theory of TCM dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States in Chinese history. This period was a time of separation between the kingdoms resulting in the remarkable development of politics, economy, science and culture. Great academic thoughts emerged, due to relax of totalitarian and the drastic social change ,and academic ideology materialist dialectical ideology of yin and yang, as well as the five elements theories which became public. During this time favorable conditions were met for the formation of the theories of TCM and they are as follows. 1) Long-Term Accumulation of Medical Experience This provides the practical foundation for the development of the theories of TCM. Its origins lie in the very beginning of human activities ,and since the 21st century B. C. there had been a deepening of the understanding of disease. Slowly the study of the art of Chinese medicine has progressed. The first use of technical words was added during the Shang Dynasty, resulting from and interpretation made using inscriptions found on tortoise shell. Some examples of technical words are abdominal mass scabies, tympanites, dental caries, etc. ; some terminology derived form symptoms such as tinnitus, diarrhea, insomnia; however most of the diseases were named after affected parts such as head, eye, ear, nose, and skin diseases. According to Mr. Hu Houxuan, "man in Shang Dynasty named 16 kinds of diseases ,for example thee diseases of head, eye, nose, ear, mouth, tooth, throat, abdomen, foot, toe, as well as urinary, obstetric, gynecologic, pediatric, and infectious diseases, covering almost all aspects of internal and surgical medicine to-day, including diseases of brain ,ophthalmology ,ear-nose-throat diseases, dentistry, urology, obstetrics and gynecolgy, pediatrics, infectious diseases etc. " `During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States, man had more understanding of the nature of disease. The Mountain and Sea Classic recorded 38 types of diseases out of which 23 were given technical terms such as jaundice, blockage, diseases due to pathogenic wind, abdominal masses, scabies, rabies, epidemic diseases etc. ;12 were named after symptoms and signs such as abdominal pain, sore throat, vomiting, deafness and the like. Discovered in the excavation of No. 3 Han Tomb at Mawangdui, Changsha, Prescriptions for 52 kinds of Diseaeses listed a total of 103 disease names, signs, and symptoms. According to incomplete figures, in The Book of Changes, The Book of History ,The Book of Odes and others of the 13 classics, recorded over 180 kinds of diseases and symptoms. The above-mentioned show the depth at which man's understanding of disease has grown as well as the medical practical experience ,thus providing a foundation for the formalization of medical law, and the formation of its theoretical system. 2) Infiltration of Ancient Natural Sciences The development of natural sciences is always interrelated. They promote and benefit each other and the development of TCM is inseparable from the achievements of the ancient science and technologt of China. For example ,the development of astronomy ,the calendar, mteorology, agriculture, mathematics, and other disciplines laid a solid multi-discipliary foundation for the formation of the theories of TCM. for instance, Yi He,a famous ancient doctor presented "the theory of Six Kinds of Climatic Factors," which demonstrated that ancient people understood the inevitable effect of abnormal changes of climate on the health. 3) Influence of Ancient Philosophy The formation of the theoretical system of TCM possesses profound philosophical origin. When systematizing long term medical experience, ancient doctors purposely applied ancient materialistic dialectical viewpoints ,such as the theory of vital essence and qi, yin and yang theory, the five elements theory, and so forth. This application transformed scattered and fragmented medical experience into a sysematic and complete system. This change was gradully done through inducing, summarizing, analyzing, and synthesizing the experience, Which resulted in heightening the empirical knowledge to theories. The formation of the theoretical system of TCM is symbolized by the first publication of the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic. The classic summed up the medical achievements and clinical experiences of Chinese medicine during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. This text established the theoretical basis and principle of TCM and derived many idas from the achievements of astronomy, biology, the creation of the calendar, geography, anthroplogy, psychology and ancient philosophy. This theoretical system is still guiding the clinical practice of TCM today. Through the theories of vital essence and qi ,yin and yang, and the five elements as the theoretical methods and holistic concept ,The Yellow Empiror's Internal Classic explains the laws of life, and the unity of the body with the natural world. It provides a systematical discussion of anatomical formation, viscera, meridians, physiology, and pathology; providing as well the diagnosis ,prevention ,and treatment of disease. Deliberately combining natural science with philosophy, the classic combines the two to provide and indepth interdisciplinary approach towards medicine. The classic was considerably advanced for its time and contributed greatly to the world of medicine. Still in academic importance today are skeletal descriptions, as well as those of the blood vessels, morphology of internal organs ,circulation ,and blood physiology. Contributions providing an understanding of the multiple functions of zang-viscera and fu-viscera in physiology are great, as are information regarding the integral relationship within physiology and pathology. Anoter classic still plays an important role in present day clinical practice is the Classic on Medical Problems which appeared before the Han Dynasty. It expounded on and supplemented the difficult questions posed by the Yellow Empiror's Internal Classic and was a contribution to the basic theory of TCM. Throughout the Han Dynasty, TCM made even further progress. Using as a foundation the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic and the Classic on Medical Problems, an outstanding physician, Zhang Zhongjing,wrote the first clinical medicine treatise during the Easterm Han Dynasty (150-219 A. D. )Treatise on Cold-Attack and Miscellaneous Diseases, and he further expounded upon the medical achievements of his forefathers while integrating his own clinical experience. Within the treatise, a system of treatment based on syndrome differentiation and the principles of medical theory, therapeutic methods, prescriptions and medication in clinical practice was established. Arising from his methods of analyzing and differentiating exogenous diseases and internal miscellaneous diseases in accordance with the six pairs of meridians and eight principles, was a solid foundation for the development and future abundance of clinical Chinese medicine. The Treatise on Cold-attack and Miscellaneous Diseases was subsequently rearranged by Wang Shuhe and divided into two books: The Treatise on Cold-Attack, and Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber. The former included 397 diagnostic and therapeutic methods, and 113 prescriptions; the latter listed 25 volumes and 265 prescriptions. The Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber put forward :"There are only three causes for all diseases: the first ,exogenous cause, is that the evils invaded from the mericlians transmit into the viscera; the second is that the evils invaded from the four limbs and nine orifices transmit into the blood vessel and result in stasis and stagnancy; the third consists of such pathogenic factors as sexual indulgence, bites by insects and beasts, and trauma, "This text further advanced the etioloical theory in the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic by analyzing the symptoms and signs according to the pathological mechanism, theory of zang-viscera and fu-viscera. Another text A-B Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion written by Huang Fumi, afamous physician in Jin Dynasty, also offered a deeper understanding of the meridian theory. The Pulse Classic, is a text by Wang Shuhe and summarizes the 24 kinds of pulse conditions and their related principal diseases, which made a contribution to the development of Chinese traditional Sphygmology. The General Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Diseases, compiled by Chao Yuanfang during the Sui Dynasty, is the first treatise of TCM on pathology. It detailed the causes and symptoms of numerous diseases and is an important source fo reference. The Key to Therapeutics of Children's Diseases, compiled by Qian Yi, was another pioneer in the development of the treatment of diseases of the zang-fu viscera, being based on symptom and syndrome differentiation. A more concrete summary of the causes of diseases was displated in Chen Yan's Prescriptions Assigned to Three Categories of Pathogenic Factors of Diseases. It focused on internal factors of disease: The imparirment caused by the seven emotions, as well as external factors: the impairment induced by the six climatic evils in excess, or of untimely occupance. It also focused on the non-endo-exogenous : impairment due to improper diet, epidemics, bites by insects and beasts, poisoning, trauma, etc.. This type of classification corresponds more with clinical reality and be-came a new development of TCM etiology. Each generation of doctors continue to study the past medical experiences found within books such as the above. And each generation builds upon past information creating richer and more developed theoretical ideas while gradually forming various types of schools of TCM. For example, influenced by the theory of the five elements and six kinds of climatic factors, the eminent physician Liu Hejian, during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, emphasized the theory that the diseases caused by the six kinds of climatic factors could become the heat-fire evil in the body. He also pelieved that the heat and fire of the six kinds of climatic factors were the most important pathogenic factors thus explaining the pathological mechanism of the heat-fire evil. Zhang Congzheng advocated that the diseases were cauded by exogenous evils which should be expelled using the methods of diaphoresis, emesis, and purgation. Li Dongyuan held that diseases were mainly brought about through the internal injury of the spleen and stomach, thus explaining the theory of the ascending and descending of the spleen and stomach, and creating the theory of relieving high fever with drugs consisting of sweet flavor and warm nature. Zhu Zhenheng advocated the theory that yang is ever in excess while yin is ever deficient. This further developed the theory of of ministerial fire and enriched the theoretical system of TCM. In addition, there were Zhang Yuansu's theory of pathological mechanism of viscera, and Zhang Jing yue's explanation of Yin-Yang, the kidney and vital gate etc.. All of the above theories enriched and developed the theoretical system of TCM. The theory of febrile diseases deals with the pathology, diagnosis and therapy of febrile diseases. In the period of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the school of febrile diseases was developed. This symbolized the understanding and study of febrile diseases reached a new level. Wu Youke,a physician in the Ming Dynasty wrote the Treatise on Pestilence and offered the theory of pestilence-evil, which was the first systematic exploration of the etiology and therapeutics of febrile diseases. This laid the foundation for the development of the theory of febrile diseases. During the Qing Dynasty, many books regarding febrile diseases were compiled, some of which are the Treatise on Tropic Febrile Diseases written by Ye Tianshi, The Treatise on Differentiation and Treatment of Febrile Diseases written by Wu Jutong, The Treatise on Damp-Heat Diseases authored by Xue Shengbai ,and A Compendium on Febrile Diseases completed by Wang Mengying. Within the above books, the authors systematically summarized the pathogenetic law of exogenous febrile diseases during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, making a breakthrough in traditional understanding that "all febrile diseases belong to cold-attack" ,thereby creating the principles of differential diagnosis and treatment of febrile diseases on the basis of the theories of wei-qi-ying-xue as well as triple-jiao. This completed the theoretical sys-tem in such aspects as pathogenesis, pathology, pulse diagnosis and treatment etc.. Great contribution to the enrichment and development of the theoretical system of TCM was made. It is necessary to point out that the theories of both the cold-attack and febrile diseases are two major schools which supplement each other and play an important guiding role in the clinical practice and studies of TCM. Great progress has been made in the development of TCM within the last 40 years. There has been an enhancement in the systematization ,and research of the basic theories of TCM. The application of modern science and technology towards the understanding of the essence of Chinese medical theories have displayed remarkable achievements in such areas as the nature of yin deficiency and yang deficiency, the essence of cold and heat, the essence of kiney and spleen, meridians, etc.. Great interest has been aroused in medical circles both at home and abroad. The continuing development of the basic theories of TCM will facilitate the development of entire TCM and continue to modernize its theoretical system.
