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Comment by mistrial9 | Hacker News Reader

"after thousands of years of practices" It's important to note that much of what gets labelled as traditional Chinese medicine today is actually modern and invented by the Chinese government in the 60s.

A thing I've heard repeated, but I've never seen a citation for, is that during the cultural revolution China had a problem of not enough doctors to see all the patients with aches and pains who were guaranteed to get health care. So they plucked acupuncture from obscurity and established that as the thing you give to people who would feel better having seen a professional but don't have anything curable wrong with them.

But like I've said: I've read this once on a skeptic blog and heard it repeated possibly by another reader thereof but I've never seen a citation for this and it may be smug western bullshit meant to portray China as cynical. IDK.

My understanding is it was a mix of things. Mao had a barefoot doctor program which emphasized practical learning and getting medical practitioners to rural areas. These practitioners had some valuable knowledge for things like hygiene, but also didn't have access to western drugs so emphasized herbs and other remedies. This was combined with Mao's desire to differentiate China from the USSR and emphasize Chinese cultural unity.

I mean, some of the most prominent CM includes mercury and was highly toxic. You'd think people would notice that.

you mean mercury like Western dental fillings until a few years ago?

the assassination of President McKinley only succeeded after weeks of lingering infection because "the best surgeons in the country" kept putting their fingers into the bullet wound

My point here is not the technical content of the Chinese practices, but rather the arrogance and military-style dismissal of alien techniques and knowledge.

Yes, I mean mercury like Western dental fillings (which are not believed to be harmful). The technical content matters a lot! I don't understand why you think I'm supporting western medicine (I do, but admit that it bungled a lot of things on its way to the current state).

*President Garfield

hmm the Pres. McKinley story and Pres. Garfield facts have some overlap.. but yes, thx for the pointer, it was Garfield particularly it seems..

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