1110 
3 Credits

Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine

The answer to why your Chinese roommate is constantly telling you to drink hot water and much, much more.
Shelley Ochs 欧阳珊婷
Course Introduction
Shelley Ochs 欧阳珊婷
Shelley Ochs 欧阳珊婷Ph.D. Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing

Shelley Ochs is a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, a translator of modern and classical Chinese medical texts, and a scholar specializing in the cultural and intellectual history of medicine in early China. Dr. Ochs completed her Ph.D. in the History of Chinese Medicine and Chinese Literature at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (2013), Beijing, China. Her current research focuses on the role of culture and religion in the early formation of Chinese medical theory and practice. She regularly writes articles on Chinese medicine for both academic and clinical journals. She has been teaching a class on Chinese medicine for undergraduates at TBC every semester since 2008.

Interests
  • Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine
  • Acupuncture
  • Chinese culture

Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine

UIBE serves as our School of Record
3 Credits
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Course Description

The theory and practice of medicine in China has a long and well documented history. Before the introduction of Western medicine into China, there was no reason to identify this set of ideas and applications as “Chinese.”

However, beginning in the Republican Period (1911-1949), traditional medicine began to be seen as an integral part of “strengthening the nation” and was promoted as part of the cultural heritage of China that could be used to help build a new China.

This course will explore how and why “Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)” has been and continues to be an important part of the political and cultural identity of both people and institutions in China.

The core of the course is a study of the concepts of health and disease in Chinese medicine. Many of these concepts, qi, yin and yang, the five phases, empty and full, and the unity of the heavens and humans are part of the fabric of Chinese culture, and are therefore central to understanding other aspects of Chinese culture, such as painting, martial arts, culinary arts, and literature. We will uncover how these seemingly philosophical notions are applied to complex clinical situations through the modalities of acupuncture, herbal medicine, qi gong, and orthopedic manipulations. Case studies from historical sources, modern physicians, and the instructor’s own practice will be discussed, and students will gain an understanding of the thought process behind diagnosis, treatment and evaluation. Scientific research on Chinese medicine and the difficulties in designing and carrying out such research will be explained.

Courses Outcomes

This course is designed to give students a general understanding of the fundamental ideas and practices that constitute traditional medicine in China today. Students will complete this course having an understanding of how philosophical, political, and social frameworks effect the legitimation and transmission of medical knowledge. It is hoped that students will be able to use this as a case example when considering other instances in which “modern” versus “traditional” knowledge is at stake in development policies and discourses. Students will leave the class with a more sophisticated and nuanced view of the differences and similarities between traditional Chinese medicine, biomedicine, and “complementary and alternative medicine”.