Have you ever taken ginger to sooth an upset stomach or been needled by an acupuncturist? These and other forms of traditional Chinese medicine have found favor with a surprising number of U.S. adults. Surprising, too, is the intertwined history of medical traditions in the East and West.
Assistant Professor of History Bridie Andrews-Minehan is well acquainted with the opposing and inseparable nature -- the yin and yang – of the two traditions. As she puts it: “There is no way to draw a boundary between Western medicine and Chinese medicine, in either direction.”
Traditional Chinese medicine applies the laws and patterns of nature to the human body. Treatments such as acupuncture, herbs, massage and meditation aim to elevate a person’s ability to fight all illness and disease, by achieving balance in the body.
Some 5,000 years of history notwithstanding, the practices are remarkably dynamic. “Chinese medicine draws on the past,” observes the professor, “but it is constantly being recreated and updated within the framework of what has gone before.”
Medical history is a longtime focus for Andrews-Minehan, who holds a PhD from Cambridge University in England. The work took her took to China for two years, where she studied at the Nanjing College of Pharmacy and immersed herself in the country’s culture. Along the way, she discovered that the evolution of Chinese medicine had as much to do with politics, public perceptions, and Western influences as it did with science. The history of acupuncture is a case in point.
East Meets West
For much of Chinese history, Andrews-Minehan notes, acupuncture was disdained by physicians and widely perceived as a low-status practice associated with street tradesmen and itinerant peddlers. In 1822, the Imperial Medical Academy went as far as to ban its teaching and practice.
It wasn’t until the early 1930s that the ancient art gained acceptance. The impetus for change: a Chinese scholar–physician who relocated traditional acupuncture points to correspond with modern (i.e., Western) anatomical illustrations. At that moment, acupuncture was redefined to look like science.
Until then, says Andrews-Minehan, “this thing we call ‘traditional Chinese medicine’ did not exist. It was defined by the encounter with West.”
Today, the practice once considered the most questionable part of Chinese medical heritage is the country’s most marketable skill. Acupuncture and other traditional therapies are practiced alongside Western treatments in many of China’s hospitals and clinics. Never mind that scientific evidence of its effectiveness remains limited and controversial.
West Meets East
Acupuncture pierced the American consciousness in the 1970s. When a well-known journalist traveling in China with the Nixon administration needed an emergency appendectomy, specialists at the Peking hospital used acupuncture to treat the post-operative pain. James Reston would tell his tale on the front page of The New York Times.
Today, acupuncture is a leading form of so-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States. According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, 38 percent of U.S. adults have used such approaches to restore or maintain health. About 2 million Americans use acupuncture in a given year.
The professor’s research underscores how global connections can complicate notions of East and West, domestic and foreign – whether the venue is medicine or business.
“Acupuncture and herbs earn billions of foreign exchange dollars for China,” says Andrews-Minehan, whose latest book, Medicine, Culture and Modernity in China, is under review at the University of British Columbia Press. “They are here to stay.”