Title Forgotten disease : illnesses transformed in Chinese medicine / Hilary A. Smith

Published Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2017

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Description 1 online resource Series Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University. Contents Foot qi in early Chinese medicine -- Competing for medical authority -- Simplifying and standardizing disease -- The northerner's eating disorder -- Getting rich and getting sick -- Creating beriberi in Meiji Japan -- Foot qi's multiple meanings in modern East Asia Summary Around the turn of the twentieth century, disorders that Chinese physicians had been writing about for over a millennium acquired new identities in Western medicine-sudden turmoil became cholera; flowers of heaven became smallpox; and foot qi became beriberi. Historians have tended to present these new identities as revelations, overlooking evidence that challenges Western ideas about these conditions. In Forgotten Disease, Hilary A. Smith argues that, by privileging nineteenth century sources, we misrepresent what traditional Chinese doctors were seeing and doing, therefore unfairly viewing their medicine as inferior. Drawing on a wide array of sources, ranging from early Chinese classics to modern scientific research, Smith traces the history of one representative case, foot qi, from the fourth century to the present day. She examines the shifting meanings of disease over time, showing that each transformation reflects the social, political, intellectual, and economic environment. The breathtaking scope of this story offers insights into the world of early Chinese doctors and how their ideas about health, illness, and the body were developing far before the advent of modern medicine. Smith highlights the fact that modern conceptions of these ancient diseases create the impression that the West saved the Chinese from age-old afflictions, when the reality is that many prominent diseases in China were actually brought over as a result of imperialism Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record Subject Beri-beri -- China -- History Medicine -- China -- History Foot -- Diseases -- China -- History Medical literature -- China -- History Foot Diseases -- history Beriberi -- history Medicine, Chinese Traditional -- history HEALTH & FITNESS -- Holism. HEALTH & FITNESS -- Reference. MEDICAL -- Alternative Medicine. MEDICAL -- Atlases. MEDICAL -- Essays. MEDICAL -- Family & General Practice. MEDICAL -- Holistic Medicine. MEDICAL -- Osteopathy. Beri-beri Foot -- Diseases Medical literature Medicine Médecine chinoise. Médecines parallèles. Médecine ancienne. Pied -- Maladies. Médecine -- Histoire -- Chine. Maladies. SUBJECT China Subject China Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2017000968 ISBN 9781503603509 1503603504

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