Young man from Taiwan pursues TCM studies in Beijing

In 2020, Xu Zezhong, a man from China's Taiwan region, became a freshman at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM). After learning online for half a year, he came to BUCM to pursue his studies in March 2021.

"My father told me that if I wanted to learn about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), I must study it in the mainland, the birthplace of TCM," said Xu, who was born after 2000.

Xu said that the learning atmosphere for TCM in the mainland is much stronger than that which is found in Taiwan. In the mainland, there are Chinese medical universities in multiple provinces, and the local governments strongly support the development of TCM, while in Taiwan, TCM is taught at private medical schools that mainly focus on Western medicine.

Xu said BUCM provides courses on traditional Chinese culture, TCM basic theories, diagnostics, prescribing and internal medicine, as well as courses on Western medicine, including pharmacology and anatomy.

"In our school, the discipline of TCM includes three majors--TCM, Chinese herbs and acupuncture. The textbooks offer a systematic exposition on TCM," Xu said.

Xu always maintains a thirst for knowledge about TCM, spending most of his spare time reading TCM books. "There are too many books for me to read, and because some books are written in classical Chinese, I need to spend more time digesting them," Xu explained.

As a member of the school's pulse diagnosis student organization, Xu often sets up a stand in front of the school's canteen to feel the pulse of students free of charge.

"I hope the school can place more emphasis on teaching us to identify medicinal herbs," Xu said, expressing pity for not being able to look for medicinal herbs in the mountains himself. "The scent and flavor of herbal plants are related to their medical properties and environmental factors. If we have such experience, we can gain a clearer understanding of medicinal herbs. We can't learn such knowledge only from books," Xu said.

"I will stay in the mainland in the future," Xu said, adding, "I think I will pursue postgraduate studies after my graduation."