What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine? History and Overview

What is TCM

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a name for a set of health practices that developed in China over a very long time. NCCIH says TCM has evolved over thousands of years, and that practitioners use psychological and physical approaches such as acupuncture and tai chi, as well as herbal products. [1] The practices usually grouped under TCM are:

• Chinese herbal medicine: Chinese Herbal Medicine
• Acupuncture: What Is Acupuncture?
• Moxibustion and cupping: Moxibustion, Cupping Therapy
• Therapeutic massage: Tui Na
• Dietary therapy: Chinese Dietary Therapy
• Movement and breath practices: Tai Chi and Qigong. NCCIH notes that tai chi, when done for health, is considered a form of qigong, one of hundreds of qigong forms developed in China. [2]

TCM is not one treatment. Each practice has its own evidence and risks, so this site discusses them separately.

Historical development

A full, sourced timeline is beyond what we could verify from sources we were able to read, so this section stays modest. Proper evidence not found for a detailed, dated history in the health agencies and journals we checked (NCCIH, WHO, PubMed).

What the sources we read do say:

• A classical text called the Huangdi Neijing (often translated as the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic) is a classical text whose discussion of body knowledge and acupoints is studied by researchers of acupuncture theory. [3]


• A 2025 review of a book on visceral manifestation and meridian theories describes their knowledge as developing in a non-linear way through the pre-Qin and Han dynasties. [4]


• A review of one medicinal plant, kushen (Sophora flavescens), notes it has been an important species in Chinese medicine since the Qin and Han dynasties. [5]


• Today TCM is used alongside biomedicine in many places. The World Health Organization added an optional supplementary chapter, "Traditional medicine conditions", to ICD-11 so that traditional medicine encounters can be counted and studied. [6]

Related systems with their own histories, such as Japanese Kampo and Traditional Korean Medicine, are separate traditions: see Kampo Medicine and Traditional Korean Medicine.

How traditional ideas differ from biomedical ones

TCM explains health using concepts such as qi, yin and yang, five phases and meridians. These are the tradition's own ways of describing the body and illness, not findings from biomedical science. See Qi, Yin and Yang, Five Phases and Meridians as Traditional Concepts and Traditional Frameworks vs Biomedical Explanations.

What research shows

Research tests specific practices for specific problems, not the whole tradition. NCCIH says that some approaches, such as acupuncture and tai chi, may help improve quality of life and certain pain conditions, while studies of Chinese herbal products have had mixed results. [1] A 2022 overview of 104 Cochrane reviews on TCM found only 5 with overall positive conclusions; 42 found the evidence insufficient and 54 could not draw firm conclusions. [7] Details by use are in TCM Evidence by Use. Many TCM practices cannot be blinded easily, so expectation (placebo) effects can affect results.

Safety in brief

Some Chinese herbal products have been contaminated with toxic compounds, heavy metals, pesticides and microorganisms, and mistaken herb substitutions have caused serious problems. [1] Tai chi and qigong appear to be safe practices. [1] Cupping and moxibustion can burn or injure skin. [8][9]

Who should seek conventional care first

NCCIH advises not using TCM to replace or delay seeking conventional care, telling all your providers what you use, and asking about a practitioner's training and experience. [1] If you are pregnant, nursing or considering TCM for a child, be especially sure to check with your health care provider. [1] Rules for practitioners vary by place; see TCM Qualifications, Licensing and Medical Care.