System Theory and Reductionism in TCM Research
中医药研究中系统论与还原论的关联关系

The paper discusses the links between the system theory and reductionism in TCM research. Author believes that life sciences in the 21st century shall be the reductionism analysis under the guidance of holism and the system theory, and make itself part of the non-linear complex science. China's traditional medicine is a natural science laden with numerous humanistic elements, enjoying the strength of both original thinking and original findings. The development of Omics has produced a huge amount of data. These data have to be reduced and analyzed under the guidance of the system theory. By working on the system theory, traditional Chinese medicine observes and analyzes different syndromes, based on massive human data. Syndrome is a physiological and pathological process or state. Human health is not only the result of a physical world, made up of organs, tissues, cells, genes, proteins, and omics, but is a lso part of the spiritual world. One has to find a junction point between them. In this context, more attention shall be paid to the reductionism analysis, under the guidance of the system theory, especially the interactions between reductionism and system theory.