Presentation
Healing of Spirit: Negotiating the Definition of Health in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Association for Asian Studies
(2011)
Abstract
In California, acupuncture is the state licensed healing modality through which traditional Chinese medicine officially interacts with biomedicine. In addition, a wide range of other healing techniques within the broader traditional Chinese system—tuina massage, cupping, herbal formulae, qigong healing, divination, exorcistic rituals, and various cultivation techniques such as stretching exercises, breathing techniques, and dietary programs—are practiced by licensed acupuncturists and other (mostly unregulated) healers. I argue that the popularity of traditional Chinese medicine, the abundance of ethnically diverse practitioners of Chinese healing techniques, and politically active professional associations are making an impact on Western medical culture in two important ways. First, the holistic, multi-dimensional paradigm of traditional Chinese medicine challenges the conventional biomedical understanding of “health” (absence of undesirable physical conditions and symptoms) through enthusiastic practitioners, inquisitive patients, and curious biomedical physicians and nurses. Second, the competitive market forces these practitioners to become creative in order to sustain their practices, where the definition of “health” is often negotiated and reinterpreted. Through case studies, I will demonstrate how the practitioners venture between cultures and medical systems to help themselves and their patients understand, interpret, and define “health,” and how this new conception of “health” is affecting the way Americans understand medicine and healing in general.
Disciplines
Publication Date
April, 2011
Location
Honalulu, HI
Citation Information
Emily S. Wu. "Healing of Spirit: Negotiating the Definition of Health in Traditional Chinese Medicine" Association for Asian Studies (2011) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/emily-wu/18/