China’s re-emergence on the world stage as a major economic and political power has sparked a global interest in all things Chinese, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Aside from growing acceptance abroad, China has also seen a surge in the number of foreigners coming to China to study TCM.

TCM originated thousands of years ago and is closely related to nature, the cosmos and the human body.

TCM, which is based on the principles of Yin and Yang and many aspects of ancient Chinese philosophy, is often seen as a natural alternative to Western medicine.

According to a report by CCTV last year, there are more than 5,000 foreign students pursuing degrees in TCM in China, as well as more than 70,000 students engaged in short-term training programs and academic exchanges.

Lokmane Benaicha, a 28-year-old French student at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), says that he is interested in traditional Chinese philosophy’s emphasis on harmony between human and nature.

“I don’t like McDonald’s or chocolate, I rather prefer the old Eastern way of thinking and living,” said Benaicha.

The Frenchman first developed a fascination for TCM watching Bruce Lee’s kungfu movies as a child, in which the kung fu master would exploit the same pressure points used in TCM.

After three years studying TCM theory, Benaicha is now beginning to study traditional Chinese massage, known as Tuina. “Rather than cutting your body open, I can tell whether you’re ill from the outside,” he said.

Having studied in Beijing for four years, Benaicha speaks fluent Chinese and now is trying to read the classic TCM work, the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, which was written 2,000 years ago.

“It is difficult, but I think I can learn more here than in Europe, because I have a chance to read the original classics,” said Benaicha.
 

Benaicha said he planned go to Sichuan after graduation, where the region’s many mountains offer high quality medicinal herbs. “Beijing is too modern to get in touch with nature.”

Marcus Gadan, a 22-year-old from Germany, studies alongside Benaicha and has given himself the traditional Chinese name Sun Jiyi, which means “to inherit Chinese medicine.”

Gadan says he decided to pursue TCM after he was inspired by an old TCM doctor taking his pulse in Germany. “I thought it was fantastic,” he said.

According to Gadan, students at BUCM do not only learn Chinese medicine, but also include classes on Western medicine, though he says he prefers TCM.

“I cure myself by ginger and green Chinese onion when I catch a cold,” he added.

Gaden says that in the future he expects to join a two-year program in Austria to get a TCM doctor’s license valid in both Germany and Austria.

According to Ma Liangxiao, the director of enrollment in BUCM’s international school, BUCM has seen its annual foreign enrollment grow from 100 students per year in the 1990s to more than 400 in 2006.

There are currently 1,414 foreign students studying in BUCM’s undergraduate, vocational and five-year English-language TCM programs.

Chinese medicine is also gaining in popularity abroad, at the same time as more and more students are journeying to China to study.

According to Manfred Porkert, a TCM scholar in Germany, 85 percent of Germany thinks herbal medicine is effective and less poisonous than Western remedies, while 58 of the country is estimated to routinely take natural medicines for health problems.

Benaicha said that in his native France, people are increasingly realizing that Chinese medicine is natural, healthy and has fewer negative side effects, which is leading to an upsurge in demand for Chinese medicinal services.

Across the Atlantic in the US, TCM has also been broadly used for many years, especially acupuncture.

Acupuncture is currently legal in 49 out 50 US states and more than 30,000 doctors have obtained acupuncture licenses, according to Dr. Tian Xiaoming, a TCM practitioner in Washington DC.

Some point out though, that despite its acceptance, TCM still remains an alternative or second choice.

“TCM is only considered an alternative medical treatment when illnesses can’t be cured by western medicine,” said one nurse in St. Louis, Missouri.