Phnom Penh, February 23 (ZXS) -- How to tell the culture of traditional Chinese medicine in Cambodia?
China News Agency reporter Ouyang Kaiyu
As the deputy captain of the first national TCM anti-epidemic medical team sent by China to the world, Dr. Zhang Yanhong sought the integration of the beauty of Angkor and the beauty of Chinese medicine from the murals of Angkor monuments that can be seen everywhere in Cambodia. Recently, Zhang Yanhong was interviewed by China News Agency's "East-West Question" to tell the story of a Chinese medicine expert Angkor's cultural journey.
The following is a summary of the interview:
China News Agency: As a foreign Chinese medicine physician, while treating patients and saving people, what is your understanding of spreading Chinese medicine culture?
Zhang Yanhong: The biggest difference between foreign aid medical work and domestic work is that we are not only doctors, but also builders of friendship between the two countries and sowers of Chinese culture. Because of its unique curative effects and rich historical accumulation, traditional Chinese medicine has become one of the most important representatives of Chinese culture, which is spread all over the world and is a precious treasure left to us and the world by our ancestors. As the first foreign aid medical team composed of TCM practitioners, in addition to participating in the treatment of local patients, how to let local people understand Chinese culture through Chinese medicine is also an important part of our work.
With the development of the work, more and more local people have a sense of trust in TCM, and then have a strong interest in the TCM culture behind it. Only by truly understanding the culture of Chinese medicine can we accept Chinese medicine from the root. When many people come to the TCM clinic, they will observe with interest the acupuncture model placed on the triage table and the "interior picture" hanging on the pillars during the waiting period. This has allowed the local people to feel the effects of traditional Chinese medicine, but also have a desire to further understand China, which plays a positive role in promoting friendship and exchange between the two countries.
Cambodian patients undergo a physical examination in the office. Photo courtesy of interviewee
China News Agency: During this mission to aid Cambodia, how to disseminate the knowledge of Chinese medicine culture locally, and what arrangements and practices did the medical team make?
Zhang Yanhong: Spreading knowledge of Chinese medicine culture is different from simply seeing and treating diseases. With the gradual increase in the number of patients, Cambodians have a deep perception of the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine, but due to language and cultural differences, many local residents cannot understand Chinese medicine culture well in a short period of time.
In order to better disseminate the knowledge of Chinese medicine culture and let the flower of Chinese medicine truly bloom in a foreign country, the medical team explored a variety of models. The first is to moisturize things silently in the work. In the process of clinical diagnosis and treatment, all physicians provide patients with dietary regulation and life care related to popular TCM, and guide patients to treat pre-existing diseases from simple and easy daily life. The second is to carry out a variety of activities. The medical team carried out various public participation activities in the local area, and let more people know and understand Chinese medicine through training and publicity, practical experience and other means. The team members used their break time to go into enterprises, schools, government offices, radio and television stations to publicize the effects of Chinese medicine. The third is to deepen understanding in a way that is mutually adaptable. Starting from the local culture, explore the common points in the cultures of the two places and help the local people better understand Chinese medicine. In this process, I discovered that the Angkor culture in the history of Cambodia's ancient Khmer country has many similarities with the culture of Chinese medicine.
In September 2022, local time, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, members of the Chinese anti-epidemic medical team of traditional Chinese medicine to Cambodia explained and demonstrated the "Eight Duan Jin" of health qigong exercises. Photo by Ouyang Kaiyu
China News Agency: China and Cambodia have frequent cultural exchanges, what are the similarities between local culture and Chinese medicine culture?
Zhang Yanhong: Before coming to Cambodia, my impression of the country stopped at Angkor Wat, and as we further communicated with the local people in our work, we found that the Angkor culture represented by Angkor Wat is actually inextricably linked with the culture of traditional Chinese medicine.
There is one place in Angkor that is different from the crowd that most tourists pay attention to, and that is the Temple of Nirvana. Nirvana Temple consists of five square pools, with different statues in the four surrounding pools, and a large central pool flowing into a small pool in four directions. To this day, Cambodians still believe that the pool water here can cure diseases, and the pool water here is open to all the people in the city, which should be the prototype of an inclusive public traditional Chinese medicine hospital. The pool water soaked in medicinal herbs is just like the early Chinese medicine decoction, which is used internally and externally, plus prayers, and there is also a bit of a shadow of physical and mental harmony.
Sculpture in the Angkor Temple corridor, which is Vishnu riding on the bird god. Photo courtesy of interviewee
China News Agency: How do you introduce traditional Chinese medicine to the local people and familiarize themselves with this culture? What are some typical cases?
Zhang Yanhong: We have tried many ways to introduce Chinese medicine to the local people, and we have also held many lectures to promote it, but due to the different cultures of the two countries, sometimes it is still a bit difficult to share a commonality. I often think about how I can describe how TCM treats patients in a local way. Once when I was doing PPT, I suddenly thought that I often saw some local characteristic buildings on the way to commute, such as the snake god Naga and Vishnu. As I learned about the local culture, I found that these materials embody some of the philosophical ideas of TCM.
On the eastern wall of the Angkor Temple cloister is the Hindu creation myth relief "Stirring the Milk Sea", a story that can be seen in buildings throughout Cambodia. The sea of milk is the sea of life, and in the story, the god and Asura each hold a giant serpent and pull to both sides, and in the process, the fairy Apsara who symbolizes life is born. Here God and demons are not right or wrong, but two forces that check each other, and they interact to create new life. In Chinese medicine theory, yin and yang are the overview of two types of things that are related to each other and oppose each other, and the mutual growth and mutual use of yin and yang maintain the normal operation of various life activities of the human body, and the emergence of strength or weakness in either side will break the balance and threaten health.
The sculpture "Stirring the Milk Sea" next to the moat lead road outside the south gate of Angkor City. Photo courtesy of interviewee
On the other hand, the main Hindu deity that can be seen everywhere in Cambodia is Vishnu, whose image is usually holding four magic weapons, crouching on the shoulders of the sacred bird Garuda. Ancient Chinese medicine needs to carry out systematic disease judgment without auxiliary examination, and improving the accuracy of disease diagnosis is a problem that needs to be solved. This is similar to Vishnu having four arms holding a magic weapon: a magic snail, a pestle, a divine wheel, and a lotus flower, and improves his abilities through the mana of the four artifacts. I applied these materials to local TCM science lectures, and the results were very good, and the locals will feel that the theoretical basis of TCM is very close to their own lives and will not be particularly difficult to understand. (End)
Respondent Profile:
Zhang Yanhong, Deputy Chief Physician of the Emergency Department of Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Doctor of Medicine, Master Supervisor, Member of the Central Doctoral Service Group of the 19th Batch of Central Organization Divisions, and Heir of the Academic Experience of the 7th Batch of National Famous Old Chinese Medicine Experts. Member of Youth and Innovation Transformation Branch of Beijing Emergency Medicine Association. Graduated from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, clinical specialty of cardiovascular disease in integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine. In 2019, he participated in the doctoral service group and served the grassroots level in Shaanxi Province for 1 year. He has presided over one project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and participated in a number of national, provincial and ministerial scientific research projects. Won the third prize of science and technology of the Chinese Society of Integrative Medicine. In March 2022, he went to Cambodia to carry out the tasks of the China-Cambodia anti-epidemic expert group and medical team, and has served as the deputy captain of the China-Cambodia anti-epidemic medical team.