HEALTH and ILLNESS in the Asian Populations ■ 241
By 1965, however, a large number of refugees who had relatives here were able to come to this country. They settled in the Chinatowns of America, caus- ing the population of these areas to swell. The rate of increase since 1965 has been 10% per year.
■ Traditional Definitions of HEALTH and ILLNESS Chinese medicine teaches that HEALTH is a state of spiritual and physical har- mony with nature. In ancient China, the task of the physician was to prevent ILLNESS. A first-class physician not only cured an ILLNESS but could also pre- vent disease from occurring. A second-class physician had to wait for patients to become ill before they could be treated. The physician was paid by the patient while the patient was healthy. When illness occurred, payments stopped. Indeed, not only was the physician not paid for services when the patient became ill, but the physician also had to provide and pay for the needed medi- cine (Mann, 1972, p. 222).
To understand the Chinese philosophy of HEALTH and ILLNESS, it is nec- essary to look back at the age-old philosophies from which more current ideas have evolved. The foundation rests in the religion and philosophy of Taoism. Taoism originated with a man named Lao-Tzu, who is believed to have been born about 604 B.C. The word Tao has several meanings: way, path, or dis- course. On the spiritual level, it is the way of ultimate reality. It is the way of all nature, the primeval law that regulates all heavenly and earthly matters. To live according to the Tao, one must adapt oneself to the order of nature. Chinese medical works revere the ancient sages who knew the way and “led their lives in Tao” (Smith, 1958, pp. 175–192).
The Chinese view the universe as a vast, indivisible entity, and each being has a definite function within it. No one thing can exist without the existence of the others. Each is linked in a chain that consists of concepts related to each other in harmonious balance. Violating this harmony is like hurling chaos, wars, and catastrophes on humankind—the end result of which is ILLNESS. Individ- uals must adjust themselves wholly within the environment. Five elements— wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—constitute the guiding principles of humankind’s surroundings. These elements can both create and destroy each other. For example, “wood creates fire,” “two pieces of wood rubbed together produce a spark,” “wood destroys earth,” “the tree sucks strength from the earth.” The guiding principles arise from this “correspondences” theory of the cosmos (Wallnöfer & von Rottauscher, 1972, pp. 12–16, 19–21). Tables 10–1 and 10–2 highlight common elements of Asian/Pacific Island reli- gions and give examples of phenomena affecting health care.
For a person to remain HEALTHY, his or her actions must conform to the mobile cycle of the correspondences. The exact directions for achieving this were written in such works as the Lu Chih Ch’un Ch’iu (Spring and Autumn Annals) written by Lu Pu Wei, who died circa 230 B.C.