The invisible frames that shape us
I didn’t think that doing my elementary research on the roots of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) would lead me into a rabbit hole.
As I shared previously, there are pockets of Christians who are against TCM and vocal about it. One person who signed up for a TCM training said, “I’ll join the class. I hope God forgives me.” Like her, I am confused about the many opposing opinions. I didn’t know that even just enquiring about TCM could be this hard for some.
Religious or Medical?
About 31% of Chinese Singaporeans identify with Buddhism or Taoism. Because the Yin-Yang concept (☯️) is closely associated with Taoism and ancient Chinese philosophy, and because Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is sometimes practised or offered through temples and other religious institutions, some Christians are understandably uneasy about it.
From my examination, however, Traditional Chinese MEDICINE (TCM) is fundamentally a medical system rather than a religious one. It approaches the body as an interconnected whole, where health depends on the harmonious functioning of its various parts. The principles of Yin and Yang provide the framework for understanding health, disease, and treatment.
The ☯️ symbol represents two opposing yet complementary forces that govern both nature and the human body. Yin refers to the body’s material, cooling, and restorative aspects—such as blood, body fluids, and organs. Yang refers to its functional, warming, and active aspects—such as metabolism, body heat, and Qi (vital energy or life force). Health is maintained through the dynamic balance between Yin and Yang, while illness is understood as a disruption of that balance.
Maybe my ignorance, Peranakan, western and Christian background helps because I am coming to TCM on neutral ground and don’t carry the religious beliefs and experiences that some grew up with. I shared my reasons for wanting to understand TCM in my earlier post, “Becoming Chinese.”
Apples and Oranges – same but different
Comparing western and eastern medicine is like comparing apples 🍎 with oranges 🍊. They are both fruits but they are also different. We are always afraid when we don’t understand something or someone. We can even get very strong and defend our convictions with tooth and nail.
In Dr Pak-Wah Lai, PhD’s “The Dao of Healing – Christian Perspectives on Chinese Medicine,” Dr Lai cited psychologist and writer, Richard Nisbett:
“…when triplets of pictures, such as a chicken, a cow and grass, are show to American and Chinese children, the American children tended to associate theses objects according to their taxonomy, while the Chinese would group on the basis of relationship.
Thus, in our example, more Americans would group the chicken with the cow because they shared the common attributes of being animals, while more Chinese would group the grass and the cow together because the former was related to the latter as its food.”
Source
The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently – And Why by Richard Nisbett, as quoted by Pak-Wah Lai, PhD, The Dao of Healing (page 88).
The invisible frames that shape us
Dr Lai’s book is tough book to read. I didn’t expect something medical to be so philosophical, that is, taking me into the study of fundamental truths about existence, knowledge, and values. He traces the history of western medicine and how Christians came to embrace it as THE accepted way of treatment that we so readily use.
He said that if we want to understand TCM, we must examine it on its merits and its own cultural worldview. We cannot use our western education and worldview solely as a lens to evaluate an eastern practice.
I won’t attempt to write a book here! The point I want to say is: that we all see the world through our worldviews or frames. Frames are values formulated from our experiences and our interpretation of those experience. They become unquestioned over repeated practices and passed down generations. Frames give us handles and lenses by which to see the world. Frames make us feel safe — they are rules by which we function and relate.
Frames are necessary for everyday living. But frames unexamined can also become prisons to close us in or to shut others out.
