Abstract:

Healthcare in China was traditionally based on a long tradition of 2000 years, called 中医, zhōng yī, literally “Chinese medicine”.  It stems from the idea that 气, qi, flows through channels in the body, called meridians. Treatment is mostly determined by tradition, although of course the experiences of its practitioners play an important role. Western medicine, on the other hand, is evidence based and although not all its practices are supported by the gold standard of double-blind peer-reviewed research, there is strong agreement that only by means of scientific methods progress is possible.