Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Wildlife Conservation

Mondo Social Updated on 2024-01-29

Wildlife conservation refers to the protection of rare and endangered terrestrial and aquatic wild animals and terrestrial wild animals of great value. The main task of wildlife conservation organizations is to protect these animals. There are two main aspects of conservation: population protection and welfare. The World Animal Protection Society, the International Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife Rescue and the China Wildlife Conservation Association are the major wildlife conservation organizations at home and abroad.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and is widely used in China and around the world. It originated in primitive society, and a theoretical system has been basically formed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and has been summarized and developed in successive dynasties. In addition, the medicine of various countries in the Chinese character culture circle such as Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Vietnam has been developed on the basis of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine carries the experience and theoretical knowledge of the ancient Chinese people in fighting diseases, and is a medical system gradually formed and developed through long-term practice under the guidance of ancient materialism and natural dialectical thinking. Based on the theory of the five behaviors of yin and yang, Chinese medicine regards the human body as the unity of qi, form and spirit. Through the method of four diagnoses and references, we can explore the disease, disease nature, and disease location, and analyze the changes of the five internal organs, meridians and joints, qi, blood and fluid of the human body, judge the growth and decline of evil, and finally obtain the name and syndrome type of the disease, and formulate the corresponding methods according to the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment, such as traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, massage, etc., in order to achieve the purpose of yin and yang harmony.

As a valuable asset of traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine is complete and widely applicable, and has a long historical background. Traditional Chinese medicine focuses on the harmony between man and nature, and contains the ideas of different schools of thought such as Taoism and Confucianism. Its best way reflects the humble and cautious character of the Chinese people. However, with the rise of Western medicine and the loss of traditional culture, contemporary medical practitioners should strive to develop and promote traditional Chinese medicine.

Although it is true that wild animals have been used in medicine in the history of traditional Chinese medicine, with the improvement of wildlife protection awareness and the development of artificial breeding technology for medicinal animals, the indiscriminate killing of wild animals has become very rare. China has established a strict wildlife protection mechanism, and has adopted a series of important laws and regulations to protect wild animals, such as the Forest Law, the Regulations on the Protection and Management of Environmental Protection, and the Regulations on the Protection and Management of Wild Medicinal Resources. At the same time, China has established many natural resource conservation and research institutions, and established many national or local nature reserves. For some well-known TCM materials such as pangolin tablets, monkey bones, sharp-nosed abdomen, black snake, golden white snake and giant gecko, many provinces in China have licensed artificial breeding bases for medicinal animals. Therefore, the sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine does not contradict wildlife conservation, and the relevant remarks mainly stem from the lack of understanding of the development status of the Chinese medicine industry in China.

Protecting and respecting nature is the basic principle of ecological civilization, and it has always been the goal pursued by traditional Chinese medicine, which is highly consistent with China's excellent traditional culture. Sun Simiao, the king of traditional Chinese medicine in the Tang Dynasty, clearly opposed the use of animal products in "Preparing for Emergencies and Seeking Prescriptions, Great Doctors and Sincerity", and advocated not harming life to save human beings. Taking this as an example, we can see the compassionate heart, diligent and inquisitive spirit of ancient doctors, and the spirit of tolerance and openness. As contemporary medical practitioners, we should actively carry forward and inherit these spirits.

There are many reasons why rare wildlife is endangered, but environmental factors remain the most important reason. With the expansion of human activities, forests and grasslands have been destroyed, and the habitats of some rare species have shrunk and are at risk of extinction. Today, some people who oppose animal protection under the pretext of the development of traditional Chinese medicine, whether out of interests or backward concepts, have objectively damaged the social image of traditional Chinese medicine, hindered the progress of traditional Chinese medicine in animal protection, and brought negative effects to traditional Chinese medicine.

At the same time, the social and national levels should increase the publicity of TCM culture, not only to let overseas understand that TCM is not only about traditional concepts, but also to invest more resources in the field of TCM to improve the breeding technology of medicinal animals and further prevent wild animals from being used in medicine.

The Chinese civilization is rich and profound, and thousands of years of history have not weakened the charm of its development and growth, which is enough to prove its value. Therefore, modern people should continue to inherit and develop traditional Chinese medicine.

Related Pages