On the Bund and On the Mend

By Wei Hongchen

She wears a white coat， speaks fluent Chinese and diagnoses patients with the assistance of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）. A German physician working at the Body and Soul Clinic in Shanghais Huangpu District， Doris Rathgeber， born in Düsseldorf in 1966， has been familiar with TCM for more than 20 years. She has practiced mainly in Shanghai and dedicates her professional life to promoting Chinas centuries-old medical system around the globe.

The ties of TCM

For Rathgeber， her introduction to TCM was“preordained.”

She came to Shanghai in 1995 when her husband started a business there， and studied Chinese for two and a half years in order to talk with the locals. One day， a friend told her about TCM， which became the catalyst for her subsequent enrolment in an internal medicine program at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Looking back， Rathgeber admits that she encountered quite a few difficulties. She struggled to jump the linguistic and cultural hurdles thrown up by the highly intensive program. As a foreign student， TCM theories， the ancient classical texts and their wording， herbs and herbal formulations all proved huge challenges. “I failed my first exam on herbs by getting only 40 out of 100 points.”Following that mishap， she started burning the midnight oil， inundating her teachers and classmates with questions， and reading German books about TCM. Step by step， through much patience and persistence， she managed to catch up with her classmates.

After graduation， Rathgeber， together with several friends， founded a clinic in Shanghai and she has been working as a TCM physician ever since. Today， she is fluent in ancient Chinese medical texts such as the Inner Canon of Huangdi （Huangdi Neijing） and Treatise on Febrile Diseases （Shanghan Lun） and can make her own diagnoses. She is also well-versed in Chinese medicinal formulas and acupuncture points that are foreign even to many Chinese.

Rathgeber has been treating a wide range of acute and chronic diseases since 2004 through her proficient combination of TCM and Western medicine. She also gained extensive experience in treating gynecological disorders. Today， she has established a total of four clinics across Shanghai.

A labor of love

As an experienced TCM physician， Rathgeber is in an authoritative position to comment on the differences between TCM and Western medicine. She said Western medicine focuses on the disease itself， while TCM is a millenniaold art of healing that regards the human being as an integral whole， with its roots in Chinese philosophy. “In TCM， we use philosophical theories that are completely unknown to Western medicine， such as the five-element theory（wood， water， metal， earth and fire）， the two ‘opposite poles of yin and yang， and qi， or energy. For chronic diseases and those that are difficult to treat using Western medicine， TCM can be a highly effective healing method，” she added.