Prominent expert devotes life to inheriting TCM

“I have spent my whole life doing one thing – inheriting traditional Chinese medicine (TCM),” said prominent TCM expert Zhou Chaofan, who has been involved in the research of TCM for more than 60 years.

Zhou Chaofan (Photo/People's Daily)

Zhou, 86, is a member of the expert committee under the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (CASMS). Born in 1936, in Pingyang county, east China’s Zhejiang Province into a family with generations of TCM practice, he was admitted to the Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine) and graduated in 1963. “The research of TCM was my father’s lifelong wish and I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Zhou said, explaining his decision to major in TCM.

After graduation, he worked for the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now CASMS), where he dedicated himself to TCM research in labs for about three years. After realizing the existence of a huge gap between some experimental results and clinical practice, he participated in clinical practice at the Guang’anmen Hospital under the CASMS for three years, before plunging back into the research of TCM. These experiences made Zhou deeply aware of the significance of combining experiments with clinical practice.

Zhou also treated patients across China, accumulating rich experience in TCM diagnosis and treatment. While treating farmers in Dexing city, east China’s Jiangxi Province, Zhou began to collect TCM specimens and gathered more than 100 varieties of TCM specimens there.

“The rich diagnosis and treatment experience at grassroots broadened my horizons and enriched my knowledge of TCM theories, giving me a deeper understanding of the development of TCM,” Zhou said.

Meanwhile, Zhou participated in compiling a book about Chinese herbal medicine, which was commended at the National Conference on Science and Technology in 1978. He also took part in the compilation and revision of the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China, an official compendium of drugs, covering Traditional Chinese and western medicines, six times in 30 years.

Since the 1980s, Zhou has combined TCM treatment methods with modern research results, making many breakthroughs. He threw himself into researching the fundamental theories of TCM for six years, reading numerous ancient medical books.

“The principles of treatment through TCM methodology are crucial to treating patients, so TCM doctors have to master them. The innovation in TCM theories means the change of the principles of treatment,” Zhou said.

Zhou has published over 10 high-level academic papers and four monographs on TCM, including those on the principles of treatment through TCM methodology, laying a solid foundation for the development of a research method that combines experiments on TCM, theories and clinical practice.

After retiring from work, Zhou has also thrown his energy into the research and inheritance of TCM and has given 20 relevant lectures.

“The combination of clinical practice and experiments regarding TCM is the key to inheriting TCM,” Zhou said, hoping that the younger generation will make continuous progress in the inheritance and innovation of TCM.