Chinese Medicine in Early Communist China, 1945-1963: A Medicine of Revolution (Needham Research Institute Series) [Hardcover]

Kim Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2005 | ISBN-10: 041534512X | ISBN-13: 978-0415345125

Using original sources, this significant text looks at the transformation of Chinese medicine from a marginal, side-lined medical practice of the early twentieth century, to an essential and high-profile part of the national health-care system under the Chinese Communist Party. The political, economic and social motives which drove this promotion are analyzed and the extraordinary role that Chinese medicine was meant to play in Mao Zedong's revolution is fully explored for the first time, making a major contribution to the history of Chinese medicine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Kim Taylor's book, Chinese Medicine in Early Communist China, is a gratifying addition to the list of genuinely new historical studies.' - China Quarterly

'Taylor has written a significant work thath makes real contributions to our understanding of changing pedagogic and therapeutic practices in Chinese medicine.' - China Journal

'The first coherent analysis of non-"Western" medicine in the People's Republic ... a welcome contribution to a timely topic, of high academic standard and succinctly written in accessible language.' - Asian Affairs

What Taylor offers is a dense descriptive investigation illuminating the
dimensions of political rhetoric within the processes of the development and
canonization of medical knowledge in the early years of the People’s Republic of
China. - Angelika C. Messner

About the Author

Kim Taylor is an affiliated scholar at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. Her research interests include the history of disease, medicine and the imperial world and nineteenth and twentieth-century Chinese medicine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (January 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041534512X
• ISBN-13: 978-0415345125
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,822,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, the truth emerges, October 26, 2005

By 

David W. Ramey (Calabasas, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chinese Medicine in Early Communist China, 1945-1963: A Medicine of Revolution (Needham Research Institute Series) (Hardcover)

For the past several decades, westerners have been exposed to the great "promise" of what has been termed "traditional Chinese medicine," (TCM). Kim Taylor's book is a thorough, readable, dispassionate and historical account of the evolution of this great charade. TCM is convincingly shown to be a modern invention, one that is being rejected by the modern Chinese, even as has been embraced by some westerners who have bought into the concept. It is mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in the field.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TCM Unserstood, October 26, 2010

By 

RWJ Keith (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chinese Medicine in Early Communist China, 1945-1963: A Medicine of Revolution (Needham Research Institute Series) (Hardcover)

TCM is misunderstood. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is 60 years old (Taylor, 2005). TCM aims to synthesise aspects of so-called traditional Chinese medical ideas and practices with scientific methodology. Chinese/western, TCM/WM, traditional/modern are thus false dichotomies and 'TCM is different to western medicine (whatever "it" is) and therefore misunderstood...yet in some cases supported by it' is not valid.