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Chinese Medicine Liberation: Starter 4. Global trend: Consider our eastern neighbour: Japan. Since the Meiji restoration era they abolished Han medicine 漢醫 . However, this act was heavily criticized by scholars in modern days and so they revived Han medicine in Japan and formed the Asian Medical Association 東洋醫道會 6 and other research centres of Han medicine at universities. Japan treats it as a national treasure. Some scholars in America also study Chinese medicine after they witnessed the effects of Ma Huang 麻黃 in asthma treatment. These are some examples how others value Chinese medicine. If we do not invest effort into promoting Chinese medicine now, after a few decades we might have to learn from foreigners what should have been ours. Isn’t that ironic? We therefore urge the authority to recognize the need to integrate Chinese medicine into the education system and equalize the status of Chinese and Western doctors. This would not only demonstrate the spirit of our nation but also preserve the essence of both Western and Chinese cultures. (Retrieved from Tianjin 天津 Yishibao 益世報 ) Huang Zhuzhai 黄竹斋 , one of the members of the Chinese Medicine Committee 中醫委員會 1935–1937 [http://baike.baidu.com/view/1383886.htm] 6 Established in 1927. http://www.chineseclassics.org/liberation.html 8
Chinese Medicine Liberation: Starter The pros and cons of integrating Chinese medicine into the education system March 1937 by Wei Zhong 畏仲 Yaron: Despite decades of struggle and finally winning legal status, Chinese medicine still faced a practical problem: how to reintegrate itself into a country ever more modernized? How to adapt itself to a new societal reality where “modern” is always valued more highly? The Third Plenary Session is responsible for resolving many matters, one of which is the bill proposing the integration of Chinese medicine into the official education system, now sent to the Central Political Committee for further discussion. This, no doubt, is a dream come true for all Chinese medicine doctors and their supporters. Even though a detailed discussion is still needed for the implementation, the principle outline has already been laid out. Those who are against the integration argue that medicine should progress with time. Chinese medicine is obsolete and should not be placed alongside science-based medicine. They claim that since the education system is the pillar of a nation, we should not allow the outdated and mystical medicine to coexist with the scientific new medicine. If you take a look at newspapers and magazines from the past few years, you can certainly find many similar arguments. For those who are in favour of the integration, their only supporting argument is that Chinese medicine has a long and extended history. It was passed down from generation to generation since the time of Qi Bo 岐伯 until today. As to the issue of reforming Chinese medicine, some preach that modern science should be used as a reference and that some valuable parts of Western medicine should be integrated into Chinese medicine. Before the bill was passed, the opposing party strongly resisted the idea of integration while the supporting party continued to pray for the reform. After passing the bill, however, the opposition dared not say a word because the final decision was made by the ruling Party. And of course, on the other hand, the supporters cheered and hailed; they saw that their dreams had finally come true. I also congratulated them that their efforts did not go in vain. Nonetheless, still I am worried and doubtful that Chinese medicine will be integrated into the education system. I briefly describe my doubts in the following paragraphs. One question we have to think about is whether Chinese medicine should be a one-year or a two-year program? If it is a one-year program, should it be considered as a specialised school or a university program? Regardless of the answers to these questions, one thing we are sure of, for the sake of preserving and promoting our precious gem—traditional Chinese medicine—it http://www.chineseclassics.org/liberation.html 9
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