Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of the most complex,
highly developed traditional healing theories in the world,
rivaled in its scope only by Ayurveda . Several parts comprise
TCM: acupuncture , traditional Chinese herbal medicine , dietary
interventions, exercise systems such as Tai Chi and Chi Gung,
and theories about architecture and interior decoration known as
Feng Shui. Its principles are essentially Taoist in nature and
encompass (in principle) every aspect of human existence. The
History of Chinese Medicine Chinese medical theories involving
diet follow along much the same lines as herbal theory;
essentially, each food is an herb and has its own characteristic
effects on the body. (A variation of this system known as
macrobiotics has become famous.) The relative importance of the
two fields has waxed and waned over time. Herbology reached a
state of high development in the 14th and 15th centuries;
acupuncture then reached what might be called a golden age under
the Ming dynasty in the late 1