Research on History of Medicine in China in the Last
Five Years
In the five years since 1999, progress has been
made, more or less, in the research works in medical history in China,
including history of TCM, history of western medicine, history of integrated
Chinese and western medicine, history of medicine of Chinese minorities,
history of medicine of foreign countries, history of medical exchanges between
China and other countries, and history of comparative medical history. Among
others, the number of articles on history of diseases, history of specific medical disciplines,
modern medical history, medical biographies, medical works, contemporary
medical history, and history of medical culture, have increased dramatically.
In the field of history of diseases, the papers deal with diseases in
gynecology and obstetrics, plague, lanhousha(scarlet fever), and nephritis;
articles in the field of specific disciplines deal with history of
acu-moxibustion, history of prescription-forms, and history of gynecology, endoscopic
surgery, and evidence-based medicine. There are even distinguished papers
appeared in these aspects. In the
aspect of modern medical history, there are papers deal with the development of
TCM, the introduction of western medicine into China, with some specific researches
in these fields. Medical
biographies include Tan Yun-xian, Quan Shao-qing, Du Chong-ming, etc. Papers on
medical works deal with the ancient unearthed literatures lost yet spread
abroad, medical classics, canons on material medica, cold-pathogenic diseases,
and formularies. While papers on history of medical culture discuss basically
the influence of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and I-discipline on Chinese medicine.
During this five years, 300 original articles have published in The Chinese
journal of Medical History, with another 200 papers published in Chinese
journals on other fields. Forty monographs have been published, among them,
important ones include A General History of Chinese Medicine, Modern history of
TCM, The Historical Development of Acupuncture, A General History of Tibetan
Medicine. For the coming years, the stress points should be laid on the
research on history of diseases, history of specific medical disciplines, and
some specific academic topics. In addition, the weak points in the research
fields of theoretical problems in studies of medical history, medical history
of Chinese minorities, medical history of communication between China and
foreign countries, comparative study on medical history , and the study on
history of medical culture should also be regarded and strengthened continually.