Chinese Epistemic Culture on the Example of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The article examines the main features of the epistemic culture of Ancient China and designates its place in the modern theory of knowledge. The author shows a close connection between the method of cognition and the holistic worldview expressed by the proto-categorical conceptual constructions yin - yang 阴阳 (two fundamental opposites), san cai 三才 (heaven - man - earth) and wu xing 五行 (five forces: water - fire - wood - metal - soil). The interrelation between the strategy of cognition and the general socio-cultural paradigm can be most clearly traced on the example of the phenomenon of traditional Chinese medicine. The treatise “Huangdi Neijing” “The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor” («黄帝内经»), the earliest surviving text on ancient Chinese medicine, is used as the primary source. The content of this treatise is the origin of all medical theories and practices that exist in China. Referring to the text “Huangdi Neijing”, the author demonstrates the influence of basic classifications on the theoretical and methodological foundation of traditional Chinese medicine. The binary classification, represented by the interaction and interdependence of the two opposites yin and yang, is the basis of the main principle of treatment in Chinese medical practice; the treatment with the opposite. The trinary classification, the unity of heaven, earth and man is reflected in the idea of the three levels of the human body (upper, middle and lower). The quinary classification expands the field of interaction of the binary conceptual construction, involving the five internal organs wu zang 五脏, functioning within the framework of the general processes of mutual overcoming of xiang ke 相克 and mutual generation of xiang sheng 生生. Additionally, the article attempts to answer the question concerning the reason for the popularity of natural medicine in the modern world, and to identify the prospect of its use.