Like everything you write, this is such a fascinating history - thank you! The creation of TCM during the consolidation you describe seems like a textbook (no pun intended) example of institutionalization creating knowledges, something like Foucault might have said about European Enlightenment contexts. But I also feel that this kind of story gets co-opted sometimes by anti-acupuncture polemicists, like those who responded to the recent NYTimes article about the interstitium's similarities to meridians. I saw some claiming that the theory and practice itself - not just the governmental system - was invented in the 20th century. Some even suggested that there actually was no acupuncture before then, because there wasn't steel to make needles. It would be really interesting to expand or follow up on this piece with a dive into that classical medicine history in a way that debunks that kind of over-simplification and maybe adds the next level of nuance to this history you're telling here. Not that Substack is a place for people to drop requests, but . . . :)
Thanks for the comment, Ryan. I was originally planning to stick to the modern aspects of Chinese medicine, but exploring what happened before institutionalization will be a great story to tell.
I did a bit of research into the history of acupuncture needles. Recent archaeological findings from the tomb of Marquis Haihun (海昏侯) show that steel needles existed as early as the Han Dynasty, which was a bit of a surprise to me too.
A fascinating subject, "TCM", one I have very much wanted to learn more about for a long time, but it is vast and intimidating. Viewpoints are so often polarized - some can't admit anything good while many others cannot admit to anything shady. But effective there must be, and shady there must be. I would like to find a few objective assessments/studies to begin my journey.🙏🏻
In 1990s I lived in Vancouver and for an obscure disease I went to a zhongyi practitioner off Main and Keefer in Chinatown. His large green pills helped.
This allowed me to later accept moving to China instead of to much preferred other places such as Flanders and Portugal in 2005, where (to wit in the said China) I availed myself of -- among other -- the zhongyi of the Liang Guang, which were the only true China for me, basically (I did see the very northern Shanghai, "Nan"jing and Changsha and the forzen north of Beijing, almost in Siberia, from my perspective, obviously, but MY China was the south).
For xiyi, I went to Aomen/Macau and the Smelling Harbour/Xiang Gang. Then in 2015 I left East/South-East Asia. Would love to return for a time.
Before 2015, Beijing was indeed gloomy with smog, but nowadays in the winter, the skies can sometimes make it feel just like Vancouver.
Zhongyi needs that specific, magical moment to really hook you. Luckily, for those of us ‘stranded’ in the north, there are currently one or two authentic liangcha 凉茶 shops hidden in Beijing to keep that southern spirit alive.
Like everything you write, this is such a fascinating history - thank you! The creation of TCM during the consolidation you describe seems like a textbook (no pun intended) example of institutionalization creating knowledges, something like Foucault might have said about European Enlightenment contexts. But I also feel that this kind of story gets co-opted sometimes by anti-acupuncture polemicists, like those who responded to the recent NYTimes article about the interstitium's similarities to meridians. I saw some claiming that the theory and practice itself - not just the governmental system - was invented in the 20th century. Some even suggested that there actually was no acupuncture before then, because there wasn't steel to make needles. It would be really interesting to expand or follow up on this piece with a dive into that classical medicine history in a way that debunks that kind of over-simplification and maybe adds the next level of nuance to this history you're telling here. Not that Substack is a place for people to drop requests, but . . . :)
Thanks for the comment, Ryan. I was originally planning to stick to the modern aspects of Chinese medicine, but exploring what happened before institutionalization will be a great story to tell.
I did a bit of research into the history of acupuncture needles. Recent archaeological findings from the tomb of Marquis Haihun (海昏侯) show that steel needles existed as early as the Han Dynasty, which was a bit of a surprise to me too.
Wow! That’s amazing. Thanks so much for the reply and all your brilliant work!
One of the most interesting pieces I’ve read on Substack so far, thank you!
A fascinating subject, "TCM", one I have very much wanted to learn more about for a long time, but it is vast and intimidating. Viewpoints are so often polarized - some can't admit anything good while many others cannot admit to anything shady. But effective there must be, and shady there must be. I would like to find a few objective assessments/studies to begin my journey.🙏🏻
In 1990s I lived in Vancouver and for an obscure disease I went to a zhongyi practitioner off Main and Keefer in Chinatown. His large green pills helped.
This allowed me to later accept moving to China instead of to much preferred other places such as Flanders and Portugal in 2005, where (to wit in the said China) I availed myself of -- among other -- the zhongyi of the Liang Guang, which were the only true China for me, basically (I did see the very northern Shanghai, "Nan"jing and Changsha and the forzen north of Beijing, almost in Siberia, from my perspective, obviously, but MY China was the south).
For xiyi, I went to Aomen/Macau and the Smelling Harbour/Xiang Gang. Then in 2015 I left East/South-East Asia. Would love to return for a time.
Before 2015, Beijing was indeed gloomy with smog, but nowadays in the winter, the skies can sometimes make it feel just like Vancouver.
Zhongyi needs that specific, magical moment to really hook you. Luckily, for those of us ‘stranded’ in the north, there are currently one or two authentic liangcha 凉茶 shops hidden in Beijing to keep that southern spirit alive.
When I hear "the cosmology", it is hard to quell that innate scepticism.