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Preface
He Zuoma is a theoretical physicist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but he is also an anti-TCM fighter.
In his opinion, only 10% of the essence of Chinese medicine, and the remaining 90% are all dross, which should be discarded.
Even though he is now nearly 100 years old, his views on Chinese medicine have never changed.
So why is He Zuoxiu so opposed to Chinese medicine? What is his so-called dross?
Fighter against TCM
Traditional Chinese medicine is a kind of cultural heritage inherited by the Chinese nation, a precious wealth left to us by the ancients, and a vivid cultural business card of China with a history of 5,000 years.
But there are always people who are black Chinese medicine and anti-Chinese medicine, among which the most representative figure of anti-Chinese medicine is He Zuoxiu.
Source: People's Daily, November 1, 2006 on "Why He Zuoxiu Criticizes Traditional Chinese Medicine (Life and Death Traditional Chinese Medicine)".
He Zuoxiu is a theoretical physicist and is relatively knowledgeable in science, but he can only be regarded as a layman in medicine.
So when he talked about traditional Chinese medicine and raised the banner of anti-traditional Chinese medicine again, it aroused heated discussions among many netizens, thinking that interlacing is like separating mountains, and He Zuoxiu's behavior is simply engaging in professional sabotage.
He Zuoxiu is self-aware about this, he knows that the distance between physics and medicine is not a star and a half, but in his opinion, Chinese medicine has many shortcomings and serious problems.
In his opinion, Chinese medicine does not have any scientific theories in many aspects, and this is why Western medicine continues to grow and Chinese medicine continues to shrink.
However, the reason why he is so staunchly anti-TCM actually has a lot to do with some of his life experiences when he was a child.
When he was very young, his father accidentally contracted typhoid fever.
He always thought that if it wasn't Chinese medicine that treated his father at that time, then he believed that if Western medicine was used to heal him, his father would definitely not die so early.
However, what made him most convinced that Chinese medicine was not scientific was his younger brother's matter.
He Zuoxiu said that when his younger brother was very young, he was very thin, which made his mother worried, so he took his younger brother to see a Chinese medicine doctor.
In the view of traditional Chinese medicine, the younger brother is relatively weak and needs to replenish qi and blood.
But later, his mother took his brother to see a doctor, and found out that his brother's emaciation was caused by a lack of milk.
Since then, my brother has been drinking milk for a while, and his health has improved.
It is precisely because of these two things that He Zuoxiu always feels that there are only 10% of the essence in traditional Chinese medicine, and 90% of it is all dross.
Among them, his strongest opposition is the theory of yin and yang and the five elements in traditional Chinese medicine, in his opinion, the statement in traditional Chinese medicine is pseudoscience, so he himself is very supportive of criticizing traditional Chinese medicine.
On the road of anti-Chinese medicine, he has also done many controversial things, and Chen Xiaoxu's death is one of them.
In his opinion, Chen Xiaoxu's death was caused by traditional Chinese medicine.
Source: China News Network, June 22, 2007 on "He Zuoxiu Claims Chinese Medicine Killed Chen Xiaoxu Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Newspaper: Don't Be a Learner".
Chen Xiaoxu is the actor of Lin Daiyu in the 87 version of "Dream of Red Mansions", but in 2006, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Chen Xiaoxu is very rejecting the treatment methods of Western medicine, so she always insists on going home to drink Chinese medicine.
Unfortunately, she died a year later due to her illness.
For this reason, in He Zuoxiu's view, Chen Xiaoxu was killed by traditional Chinese medicine, but what he didn't know was that Chen Xiaoxu's condition was already very serious at that time.
If Chen Xiaoxu received treatment from Western medicine and finally died, can it be said that Western medicine killed Chen Xiaoxu.
I have to say that He Zuoxiu's statement is too targeted.
Although it is said that traditional Chinese medicine is not omnipotent, and there are many shortcomings, He Zuoxiu's doubts are only empty words, and there is no convincing basis and reason at all.
What is the difference between this and smearing Chinese medicine?
I thought that with the change of time, his thoughts would change immediately, but I never thought that his views on Chinese medicine would be so sharp.
Information source: Today's headlines - He Zuoxiu posted on June 23, 2024
Now nearly 100 years old, when he once again expressed his views on Chinese medicine, he still held high the banner of anti-Chinese medicine.
In his view, the five elements of yin and yang in traditional Chinese medicine do not have a clear definition and clear relationship, that is, they do not have any scientific theories.
He even gave an example that the "gold, wood, water, fire, and earth" of traditional Chinese medicine is also used to write novels about gods and monsters, and the concept is really very illusory.
Although he once again posted articles to bombard traditional Chinese medicine many times, he still did not come up with convincing evidence, only his repeated rhetorical questions.
Having been a scientist all his life, shouldn't he know how to pay attention to real evidence in everything?
However, from the remarks he made, it can be seen that he could not produce any favorable evidence to support his doubts, and it can only be said that his doubts are only an objective view.
Those who favor the development of traditional Chinese medicine have a certain historical basis and basis.
Traditional Chinese medicine that keeps pace with the times
Traditional Chinese medicine in the mainland began with Shennong tasting herbs, and Shennong recorded a lot of theoretical knowledge for future generations to refer to while practicing.
It can be seen that the historical development of Chinese medicine is very long.
Information source: Red Culture Network's report on September 11, 2023 about "He Zuoxiu called traditional Chinese medicine "unscientific", and the West that awarded the Nobel Prize to Tu Youyou did not agree".
In the history of the mainland, there are Bian Que, Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, etc., generation after generation of famous Chinese medicine physicians who have been passed down orally.
This is enough to show that traditional Chinese medicine in the mainland has a pivotal position in the history of medicine in the mainland.
But there are also quacks who like to swagger.
He Zuoxiu's father died of a Chinese medicine doctor due to a cold, and it is very likely that his father was treated by a quack doctor, if he was replaced by a Chinese medicine doctor of the same level as Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo, how could he not be cured.
It's just that I never thought that He Zuoxiu questioned Chinese medicine because of this, which was too one-sided.
In the history of traditional Chinese medicine, Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" was also called an encyclopedia by scientists such as Darwin and Joseph Needham.
This is enough to show that Chinese medicine is scientific to a certain extent, and it is not pseudo-science as He Zuoxiu said.
Not only that, mainland scientist Tu Youyou has made such great achievements in the development of antimalarial drugs, which is due to the combination of many modern medical books, materia medica, folk prescriptions, etc.
She was also awarded the Nobel Prize.
If TCM is vetoed, is it undoubtedly a veto of this great achievement?
Although some of the theoretical foundations of Chinese medicine are indeed relatively old, Chinese medicine has always kept pace with the times, so it should not be vetoed!
epilogue
In the medical field, Chinese medicine and Western medicine are not in conflict, and can even play a complementary role.
Moreover, with the progress of science and technology, traditional Chinese medicine in mainland China has also undergone rapid changes.
He Zuoxiu has repeatedly vetoed traditional Chinese medicine, and he has not been able to provide favorable evidence to show that such behavior is simply smearing traditional Chinese medicine.
He Zuoxiu also knew that his behavior would definitely attract abuse, but he didn't seem to care anymore, and he cared more about transmitting his views to the public and letting others accept him!
However, traditional Chinese medicine has thousands of years of cultural history and basis, and it will not withdraw from the stage of history because of individuals.
On the contrary, with people's attention, the development of traditional Chinese medicine is getting better and better.