title: New understanding of the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine.
abstract: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays an important role in the medical system used in health care and treatment of diseases. This article reviews the basic theory of TCM based on its formation and contributions. Two new personal points are proposed as follows: Six Zang () theory and deemphasization of the five-element theory. The basic theory of Chinese herbs is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650204, China. jzhou@mail.kib.ac.cn
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal