Shanghai Daily news

Zhang Jianming, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, has earned a reputation for his profound skills in treating various diseases in the past few years, especially some chronic and persistent diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, uremia, rheumatism, and cancers.
The day a reporter met Zhang in his two-story clinic in Jiading District, it was getting dark. And at that time, he had just finished the whole day's work with the last patient.
Seeing the reporter, Zhang began the conversation by introducing some basic knowledge about traditional Chinese medicine.
"In Chinese medicine, the human body is regarded as a microcosm of the universe. Good health, then, is considered a state of harmony among the different forces of life," said Zhang.
"Poor health or sickness arises when there is disharmony among the various elements of the human body," he added.
Chinese medicine places great significance on diagnosis. Normally, there is a series of ways a doctor can apply to reach a reliable diagnosis.
The first is to observe the patient's facial expressions. The next is to listen to the patient's voice and respiration, and smell his or her body odor.
After that, a doctor inquires about the symptoms and duration of the diseases or discomfort. The last step is to take the pulse and palpate parts of the body, which is the most important method among the four.
But these skills cannot be acquired in one day or one year, it demands one's great perseverance and full devotion to Chinese medicine, Zhang said.
"I love Chinese medicine and I have spent most of my leisure time reading, studying and experimenting for the last 30 years, in an attempt to explore the mystic world of Chinese medicine," he boasted.
Zhang has picked up a great deal of clinical experience by his untiring efforts and has made a name for himself as a skilled doctor. Many patients will turn to him for help after other doctors fail to cure them.
"Doctor Zhang is extremely busy with his patients in the daytime. The only time he could afford to do something else is in the evenings as there will be no more patients waiting outside the clinic at night," according to one of Zhang's assistants.
In Zhang's eyes, as a real doctor, the patients should always be given top priority.
"Well, I think I will never feel right about seeing the patients' pain. They are always my greatest concern at any time," Zhang said.
"So I am determined to try my best to relieve them from suffering and help them to rehabilitate," he said.
Talking about the status quo of Chinese medicine, Zhang frowned and took a deep breath, showing his fears about the development of traditional Chinese medicine in today's China.
Chinese medicine has a very long history, which can be traced back to about 5,000 years ago. Since then, it was well-developed and mostly practiced in ancient times.
However, modern Western medicine has spread quickly in China over the last century, and is now commonly practiced in most hospitals.
As a result, traditional Chinese medicine has lost its charm little by little.
There were about 276,000 doctors of Chinese medicine nationwide in 1949, and that number hadn't grown significantly by the end of last year, according to Zhang.
"From the figures, you can see nowadays there is a great shortage of doctors in China, in particular their is a lack of experienced ones," Zhang said.
Establishing a medical school has become one of Zhang's dreams.
By doing this, he hopes more and more young people will regain an interest in Chinese medicine.
"Once people have a clearer idea about what real Chinese medicine is, they will definitely rediscover the mighty beauty and the great healing power of our traditional Chinese medicine," Zhang said.