Model of “images”: the intersection point of Yi and traditional Chinese medicine──simultaneously on traditional Chinese medicine’s quintessence and its future

Abstract: Scholars have always been disputing on the intersection point I Ching learningand traditional Chinese medicine. Departing from a specific aspect, i. e. thinking mode, theauthor discussed this question, raising that, as an intersection point, image thinking is thethinking in common for both I Ching learning and traditional Chinese medicine. Imagethinking consists image thinking methods and image thinking model. The former is akind image-model thinking method, and the latter includes multi-class sub-models, such ashexagrams model, Yin Yang model, five-element model, heavenly stem and earthly branchmodel. etc. possessing the same origin, quality. and structure. lieing tile quintessence tra-ditional Chinese medicine and stressing intuition. comprehension, formula and cycle, imagethinking possesses qualities integration, holographic-ness. interrelating. super-forming andchanging with seasonal points. The essential difference between western medicine and tradi-tional Chinese medicine is the difference between proto-type theory and that of moder-type, but either has its advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, departing from the aspectof image model. the author upholds to mend the thinking mode traditional Chinesemedicine to improve academic research on Chinese medicine with the view its future.