Medicine is a Humane Art: the Basic Principles of Professional Ethics in Chinese Medicine by Zhang and Cheng

This article provides a review of the history of Chinese medicine and the growth and development of medical ethics in this context. What I found especially interesting is the emphasis on the way ethics is addressed, how ethically right behaviour is promoted. We see that Chinese culture pays much attention to moral evaluation, which is expressed by the filial obedience, being respectful and nice to others independent of their social status, and in cherishing life, with appreciation of mortality. Confucius taught that everybody had an inner sense of right and wrong, which they knew by self examination, rather than by following laws and restrictions. 

“Benevolence is the core of Confucian ethics. In Confucianism “benevolence” means “to love the people”. Confucianists saw medicine as a means to save people’s lives by love. “(S9)

This quote explains the deep roots of Confucian ethics in that Benevolence should be the main “guiding star” for making decisions in the hospital settings, which would go in alignment with Confucian tradition in general.

From the history of Chinese medicine we see that its ethics were also influenced by Buddhism and Taoism. Taoism favors life, considering it to be the happiest state, and pursues immortality. One of the ways to prolong life from their perspective is by living a virtuous life. Buddhism also promotes practicing good deeds as essential part of good medicine. So, we see that cultivation of virtue is rooted in each individual’s personal goal, and helping people heal and save their lives is a virtue in itself. 

Of course, this was the assumption in the ancient Chinese medical ethics. In the 19th century with the introduction of Western medicine the whole medical system in China began to change. This change called for the establishment of certain ethical standards in medicine. We see that many conflicts of interest are arising in the system, which must be addressed to find balance between the patients, the doctors, the hospitals, and the community. Nonetheless, it seems that some part of ethical concept is already rooted within each Chinese practitioner as, if possible, inherited together with the cultural concept of the structure of their life and society.