A Study of Integrated TCM Innovations
中医理论集成创新机制研究

Along with the tide of culture collisions and scientific development, TCM theory has been enriched by diversified academic schools, including holism, reductionism, and doctrine of complex. Holism is made up of data research and clinical research, and reductionism experimental research and clinical research. A complex model has the same components as reductionism, namely experimental research and clinical research. They result in six research approaches. Holism is featured with a sense of value paying more attention to practice and experience gathering, focusing on accurately grasping an object as a whole, and on the relationships between subject, object, and environment. Reductionism puts theory and analysis in the first place, focusing on accurately grasping every detail of an object, and on the independent internal structure of subject, object, and environment. A complex model tries to fuse both holism and reductionism, hoping to retain their merits, without undesired part of them. Three approaches: data research, experimental research, and clinical research, complement and test each other. Data research is more important for holism, though it has been used in other models as well. Experimental research has been employed by both reductionism and complex models, though different in applications. Clinical research has to work with holism, reductionism, and complex models, though in different forms. These research approaches present an equally important academic value, though not in every aspect. As a result, their contribution to innovations shall be evaluated separately.