The Chinese approach to understanding the human body is unique and holistic. Highly sophisticated set of practices is designed to cure illness and to maintain health and well-being. The treatment of disease is done using acupuncture, Acupressure, Herbal medicine, Shiatsu, Taichi, Dietary principles, Physical manipulation of the body tissues, therapeutic exercise and movement, and the mind-body practice. It is important to understand that the subtlety and complexities of Chinese medicine are based on firm philosophies and principles, which while differing from those in the West are nonetheless rigorous and valid.

Two classic medical texts, the Nei Jing (100 B.C-100 A.D.) and the Nan Jing (100-200 A.D.) were important early documents that presented the core concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and informed generations of scholars and practitioners ever since. Much of the philosophy of Chinese medicine derived from Taoist philosophy. These core concepts suggest that disease is the result of imbalances in the flow of the body's vital energy, or Qi (pronounced "Chee"), and that the human body is a microcosm of the basic natural forces at work in the universe.

During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) it reached its apex but then gradually declined to the status of a folk practice until 1949. The TCM practitioners were not given recognition and support and the Chinese medicines as a means of making health care accessible went to a suffering state and slowly faded in China. But traders, missionaries, and diplomats visited East Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries and returned home with reports and texts of the classical practices and were spread around the globe.