The faces of Chinese medicine in Nanjing. These three photos represent three different aspects of Chinese medicine in modern China. The first, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicines Hall of National Medicine 國醫堂 (national medicine is another term for Chinese medicine), combines reverence for the past with nationalist sentiment in a way that emphasizes tradition and Chinese medicine as a part of Chinese-ness. The doctors here (all of whom are senior physicians) and the patients who come to see them tend to value a more traditional approach to Chinese medicine and high quality herbs, but, in this case tradition is expensive. The cost of seeing a doctor at a Hall of National Medicine (other universities of CM have them as well) can be anywhere from 5x to 15x the usual cost. The second, Jiangsu Provincial Chinese Medicine Hospital 江蘇省中醫院, is a teaching hospital for the university. Such hospitals are usually much cheaper than the Halls of National Medicine, and can be quite good, but the amount of Chinese medicine used can vary greatly. The so-called clinical 臨床 Chinese medicine programs run in many such hospitals are often just biomedicine by another name. In Beijing the students from Dongzhimen Hospital 東直門醫院 often attended classes at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine for no credit just to get more instruction in actual Chinese medicine. The final picture is of a branch of the (in)famous Tongren Tang 同仁堂. Founded in 1669, Tongren Tang has become the worlds largest producer of Chinese medicinals. Fears over contamination of herbs have greatly increased their business, since they have a reputation for quality. They have also been at the forefront of the commercialization of Chinese medicinals as luxury items, selling expensive medicines to the new wealthy class of China and at times encouraging the use of very expensive medicines, like dongchongxiacao 冬蟲夏草, when they were not necessary. I hope this survey shows some of the complexity of Chinese medicine in China today. All of these places benefit some people but exclude others. All of them seek to advance Chinese medicine in particular ways while ignoring other aspects of it. This is true of all approaches to medicine in all times and places. Seeing it in another society is often easier than recognizing it in your own life, but we are all constantly involved in making similar choices to those represented in these pictures. There is no single true or authentic Chinese medicine and never has been. If your first reaction to this post was, See, theyve lost the REAL Chinese medicine in China, but I know what it is, then it might be time for some serious self-reflection :).
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 22:14:18 +0000
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