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"after thousands of years of practices" It's important to note that much of what gets labelled as traditional Chinese medicine today is actually modern and inve
by neaden 4y ago
"after thousands of years of practices" It's important to note that much of what gets labelled as traditional Chinese medicine today is actually modern and invented by the Chinese government in the 60s.
- 1-more 4y agoA thing I've heard repeated, but I've never seen a citation for, is that during the cultural revolution China had a problem of not enough doctors to see all the patients with aches and pains who were guaranteed to get health care. So they plucked acupuncture from obscurity and established that as the thing you give to people who would feel better having seen a professional but don't have anything curable wrong with them. But like I've said: I've read this once on a skeptic blog and heard it repeated possibly by another reader thereof but I've never seen a citation for this and it may be smug western bullshit meant to portray China as cynical. IDK.
- neaden 4y agoMy understanding is it was a mix of things. Mao had a barefoot doctor program which emphasized practical learning and getting medical practitioners to rural areas. These practitioners had some valuable knowledge for things like hygiene, but also didn't have access to western drugs so emphasized herbs and other remedies. This was combined with Mao's desire to differentiate China from the USSR and emphasize Chinese cultural unity.