The+Yellow+Emperor's+Medicine+Classics

=Medicine Advance in the Zhou Dynasty= by Allison Fontaine

=**The Yellow Emperor's Medicine Classics**= =**Natural Elements of the Classics**= =Acupuncture= =**Moxibustion**= =The Plain Book of Questions= =The Classics Today=
 * The Yellow Emperor's Medicine Classics is a two part book written by Emperor Huang Di and other Chinese medical experts
 * It was the first medical book written in China
 * Focused on the the theory of yin and yang as well as how important the five elements were
 * The book was written during the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty
 * Although the continues fighting brought unrest to China, the Yellow Emperor was still able to create a critical advancement still explored today
 * Five Elements of the human body: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water
 * Each element correlated to an organ, depending on the "upset organ" certain symptoms would arise
 * Each organ also correlated to either the yin or the yang
 * Chinese medicine focused on the Qi, or flow of energy
 * Illnesses meant the natural balance within the body upset
 * The second part of the Classics deals with acupuncture
 * The Chinese believed that if the flow of energy is blocked in the body it causes illness
 * Acupuncture is the process of inserting needles into certain points on the body to release the block
 * Although not originated in the Zhou Dynasty, the Yellow Emperor was the first to document the entire process
 * “Moxibustion uses combustible cones made of leaves, which are then lit and burned down to the skin. The placement of the cones is on specific parts of the body and their use is similar to acupuncture. The palpation of the pulse in Chinese medicine is one of the most important and classic methods used to diagnose illness. The pulse is a leading indicator of a particular organ's state of health.” (TCM)
 * First half of The Yellow Emperor's Medicine Classics
 * Huang Di asked medical experts questions and wrote the answers
 * Deals with anatomy, physiology, and therapy
 * Without The Yellow Emperor's Medicine Classics, historians would not have as good an understanding of ancient Chinese medical practices
 * Some practices are still used today, or have been perfected since then
 * Chinese medicine today still focuses on natural remedies