Abstract
Traditional Oriental medicine has undergone various periods of transition throughout its history. In 1958, it became necessary to create a teaching model that was widely adopted in China and later expanded to Western countries. Today, during the 21st century, it has become institutionalized, with formal teaching programs in universities, producing professionals with higher curricular value.
However, both in the East and the West, there are still “non-formal” ways of teaching traditional Oriental medicine, especially the teaching received and delivered through verbal training. This teaching follows its own rules and has common characteristics, including:
Selection of students. Evaluation of aptitudes for personalized teaching. Teachings within circles of trust. Competency-based teachings. Creation of new styles, microsystems, and point systems. Loyalty and mutual trust between students and their master. No admission of intrusion from other schools. The goal is to promote students’ professional development. High-level knowledge, usually delivered in the form of “secrets” or “keys.”
The duration of teaching in these schools varies. It depends both on the disciple’s ability and often on the master’s willingness to declare their training complete and let them go.
Graduates of verbal schooling are capable of generating new forms of knowledge within traditional Oriental medicine and are free to replicate the learned model, perpetuating the training lineage.
The student’s training is not always completed fully. Due to the close and personal relationship, acts perceived as disloyalty toward the master can result in the student being expelled without completing their training. It can also occur that students enter the school with the sole objective of “stealing knowledge”; it has been found that, during their training, these students perform actions that undermine the morality and prestige of the schools. These students are seen as dangerous because their actions can destroy the entire training system, hence the rigorous selection process for students entering these schools.
SHOULD THIS TYPE OF TEACHING BE INSTITUTIONALIZED?
An interesting example of the current challenges in TCM teaching is given by Xuanxuan Zhou and colleagues (2023), 1 in this article, they offer a comprehensive analysis of TCM education, highlighting the necessity of a well-rounded strategy that combines both traditional and contemporary components. According to their findings, even in cases when modern techniques offer uniformity and technological advancements, the “apprenticeship model” is essential for maintaining the practical and cultural aspects of TCM. Increasing engagement in unified models may also enhance student commitment and learning outcomes.
The master, or the graduate authorized to teach, could create an institute of traditional Oriental medicine, maintaining the “know-how” and following the laws governing education in the country of residence. This establishes training programs tailored to local needs, with a finite duration of the course and clear training objectives.
The knowledge keys obtained in verbal training allow for a broader understanding of the patient’s life, enhancing diagnosis and may make treatments more accurate. The understanding that the Qi of life is a reflection of planetary Qi is often a guiding thread in the training of these schools.
This knowledge allows the manipulation of functions, time, and space, thus enabling the acupuncture point to correct the imbalance, even performing actions not always described in books.
Footnotes
AUTHOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
The authors have no interests to disclose.
FUNDING INFORMATION
No funding was received for this article.