Essay --

Scott Weaver GHS 205 06 11/29/2013 Medicine in China Chinese medicine has a tradition dating back thousands of years, but in recent years it has changed drastically. The influences of Western medicine, Communist ideology, and other government policies have been the force behind this evolution. Since 1950, Chinese medicine has been standardized and transformed into a mostly state-run program that integrates both traditional Chinese medicine and the more scientific, modern style of Western medicine. During this transition, traditional Chinese medicine struggled to find its place in the new Communist society. Today, multiple medical techniques have been blended together which allow the Chinese to receive top-notch healthcare, while retaining their culture and tradition. Medicine in China has been practiced for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found traces of Chinese medicine dating back to the 16th Century B.C. during the Shang Dynasty. "In Shang era ruins, scholars found particles of seeds still used extensively in Chinese medicine and stone-crafted instruments resembling surgical tools. They also found the first medical records on oracle bones" (Medical Journal). Traditional Chinese medicine combines multiple methods including herbal remedies, acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion, and mind-body therapy. Chinese medicine was highly connected to the spiritual world. Chinese medicine is based on "the ancient Chinese perception of humans as microcosms of the larger, surrounding universe—interconnected with nature and subject to its forces" (NCAAM). Concepts from Daoism, Confucianism, and other schools of Chinese thought found their way into the philosophy and theory of medicine. "Qi, for example, which meant air or breath, ca... ... to practice using Western medicine. When interviewed, many doctors have come to find that "if someone died in your care and you had relied on Chinese medicine alone, no authority would defend you against accusations of neglect. If you used only Western medicine, no one would dare blame you". In China, patients are given many treatment options, and it is ultimately up to them to decide their preferred treatment. This dynamic of multiple healthcare practices is unseen in the rest of the world. In all, Chinese medicine has changed rapidly throughout the last sixty years. The influences of Western medicine and Communist ideology have created a plural healthcare system which is nonexistent in the rest of the world. Medicine in China has become more modern and scientific, while at the same time retaining the culture, traditions, and philosophies of the Chinese people.