TCM treatment emphasizes diagnosing syndromes, seeking causes, and examining causes to determine treatment. "Syndrome" refers to syndrome type or syndrome, which represents the macroscopic state of the body at that time (such as whether the weather is cloudy, sunny, windy, or rainy). Behind a syndrome type there is a set of etiology and pathogenesis, and a set of symptoms caused by the etiology and pathogenesis. Traditional Chinese medicine treats syndromes and rarely directly targets symptoms. A syndrome only reflects a longitudinal section of the entire disease development process, that is, the temporary state and model of the complex system of the human body. The treatment principles of traditional Chinese medicine are mainly based on this. The development process of a disease can be regarded as a series of many syndromes.

The establishment of various syndrome names only represents certain typical patterns to facilitate learning and operation. However, most of the clinical findings are compound types of typical syndromes, which may even vary greatly. Therefore, we should not stick to the various existing syndrome types, but we must learn and grasp the laws and secrets of disease changes to cope with ever-changing conditions. Su Question‧Liuyuan Zhengji Da Lun" says: "Thus, those who know its importance will end up with one word, and those who do not know its importance will be scattered endlessly. This is what we call it."