Published: 2017/5/25     METRO SHANGHAI, CITY PANORAMA             By Qi Xijia

Mustika Nasution from Malaysia is an international student studying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SHUTCM). Nasution used to work at a pharmacy in Malacca, where she met many Chinese tourists who requested traditional medicines. This prompted her to read books about TCM, which further fueled her interest. Nasution is one of many international students in China fascinated by TCM. SHUTCM has over 1,500 long-term international students from 57 countries who came to study here.

For five years, these international students will take courses in TCM basic theory, tuina (massage) exercises, formulas of Chinese herbal medicine, meridians and points, acupuncture and moxibustion technique and special lectures on TCM classicInner Canon of Huangdi, an ancient Chinese medical text that has been treated as the fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for more than two millennia.

Formed some 2,000 years ago, TCM has played an important role in benefiting people's health. Unlike Western medicine, the theory of TCM is a plain and dialectical philosophy which provides a unique perspective to understand the relationship between health and illness.

Zheng Linyun, director of SHUTCM's International Office, told the Global Times that, compared with Western medicines, TCM is good at treating functional diseases or improving life quality.

"Interestingly, we noticed from practice that TCM works better on foreigners than on Chinese people, and (foreigners) are also more sensitive toward acupuncture," he said.

Aaron Joost, a student from the US who currently studies at SHUTCM, once went through an acupuncture treatment for his sick stomach, an encounter that removed any lingering suspicions he once had toward TCM.

"At first I was confused why they put needles in different parts of my body (than my stomach). I was like, 'I have a stomach problem, why are you putting needles here?' They are talking about meridians. After one or two treatments of acupuncture, I got completely better," he said.

Idan Moskovitch from Israel, who received his bachelor's diploma in TCM back home, now studies at SHUTCM. He chose Chinese instead of Western medicine as a discipline because he believes Western medicine doesn't treat patients, only symptoms.

"I feel there is so much in this world that Western medicine doesn't know or doesn't care about. I feel that Chinese medicine has much more to offer," he said.

His personal experience a few years ago made him hold this belief more firmly. For a period of time he felt tired and depressed and put on weight. Moskovitch went to a modern doctor and was told that he had hyperthyroidism. Instead of taking the Western medicine prescribed, which had to be used continuously, he decided to try Chinese medicine.

"I opened my book, read about my condition and made my own Chinese herbal formula. I took it for six months. Not only did my blood test get much better, I felt much more alive and had so much more energy than before," Moskovitch said, adding that whenever he suffers any pains, be it a simple headache, from exercising or just a hangover from drinking too much alcohol, he uses needles instead of pills.

Absence of laws and regulations

He added that only just recently have the people of Israel become interested in TCM.

"Ten years ago, if you asked (Israeli) doctors about TCM they would say don't do it, it's a waste of your money and your time. Now doctors in Israel are accepting it. They know it works and they will refer patients to Chinese doctors and clinics," he said.

However, Moskovitch also has noticed that TCM is not yet regulated by Israeli law, meaning that anyone can open a TCM clinic and call himself a TCM doctor without any certification or license.

"There is no law against it. We're finally talking about this problem, but there is still a long way," he added.

The absence of laws and regulations around the TCM industry in foreign countries has long existed, but recently some Western nations including Canada, the US and within the EU have enacted new laws to restrict who can practice TCM.

Zheng believes this will help TCM eventually expand across the Western world, but at the same time he believes it also poses a greater challenge for China's TCM industry to adapt to global standards.

Thus far, TCM is practiced in more than 180 countries and regions, some of which are located along the route of the Belt and Road (B & R) initiative, according to a white paper released by China's State Council in December.

As stated in a newly released plan issued by Chinese authorities, by 2020 China will set up 50 TCM communication and exchange centers in B & R countries, and promote 20 TCM international practice standards and register some 100 Chinese medicines.

As a response to the B & R initiative, SHUTCM will build 10 overseas TCM centers in cooperation with local hospitals, universities and institutions.

Currently the university is working on a collaboration with the WHO to compose a guidebook for unified TCM technical terms and diagnostic criteria to be included in ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision), which is expected to be released by 2018.

"A unified standard is beneficial for the collection and analysis of big data, covering the shortage of current inconsistent diagnostic criteria," Zheng explained.

Mustika Nasution said that whenever she returns to Malaysia during a semester break, she finds that other nationalities are also becoming more interested in TCM.

"They ask me to diagnose them when they see me; they say if I open a clinic they will come," she said. Until then, Nasution plans to receive a master's in TCM at SHUTCM to solidify her knowledge of the ancient craft.