Books Traditional Chinese Medicine: Heritage and Adaptation 1st Edition by Paul U. Unschuld (Author), Bridie Andrews (Translator)

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Heritage and Adaptation" by Paul U. Unschuld (with Bridie Andrews as translator) is an authoritative exploration of Chinese medicine from its ancient origins to its contemporary practice. The book examines Chinese medicine as deeply intertwined with Chinese culture, politics, and philosophy throughout history.

Unschuld reveals a Chinese medical tradition that developed around a holistic understanding of the human being, incorporating cosmology, numerology, and supernatural beliefs as influential factors in health. He discusses diverse therapeutic methods, including acupuncture and pharmacology, and traces how Chinese medical knowledge has been globally exchanged.

The book also addresses the twentieth-century challenges that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) faced amid military defeats and modernization efforts, which led reformers to import Western medical knowledge alongside traditional practices. Since the 1970s, TCM has gained recognition in the West as an alternative or complement to Western medicine, even as China works to scientifically integrate aspects of its medical heritage.