"Western medicine" (which is exactly what it is called in China, to contrast with TCM) is shorthand for "practices invented in the west". That these methods cha

"Western medicine" (which is exactly what it is called in China, to contrast with TCM) is shorthand for "practices invented in the west". That these methods chase universal truths, or are practiced world-wide, do not make them "non-west" in terms of origin. The Chinese call the practice of truth seeking, in a more broader sense (outside of medicine) just "science". "Western" medicine is also not merely the practice of seeking universal medical truth. It is also a collection of paradigms that have been developed in its long history. Like all paradigms, there are limits and drawbacks: phenomena that do not fit well. Truth seeking tends to be done on established paradigms rather than completely new ones. The "western" prefix is helpful in contrasting it with TCM, which has a completely different paradigm. Many Chinese, myself included, have the experience that there are all sorts of ailments that are not meaningfully solved by "western" medicine practitioners, but are meaningfully solved by TCM practitioners.