Recently, Charlie Buck and I were invited to guest edit a Special Issue for the peer-reviewed journal “Chinese Medicine and Culture”. It discusses the global cross-cultural integration of TCM in the mainstream healthcare, medical education and the practice of medicine. It describes how TCM was established in the west, how schools were formed, how regulation was put together, and what is the future of the profession. We spoke with some of the key pioneers, Ted Kaptchuk, Peter Jonathan Deadman, Will Morris, Nigel Wiseman, Peter Eckman, John McDonald, Judy James, Felicity Moir, Edward Neal, and the wonderful Mel Hopper Koppelman. You can access the journal through this link: https://journals.lww.com/CMC/pages/default.aspx For convenience, I also uploaded the pdf of the entire issue on Google Drive, here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fT4BSSEJ5uH8wqeWbry38NoLz2lo4nFJ/view?usp=share_link
Chinese Medicine is a medical system that prides 15 centuries of continuous development. And it has not only managed to remain relevant and current, but has also successfully acculturated itself in the mainstream healthcare, becoming a global phenomenon. Yet, there is a misconception among some acupuncturists, that other modalities are now aggressively appropriating parts of their practices (i.e., "scope creep"). I think that this viewpoint, although sometimes valid, should become an opportunity for reflecting back on the reasons why this is happening. But let’s start with a true story: In 2017, an amateur MMA fighter in China, knocked out a famous Taiji master in 30 secs. All sentiments aside, in recent decades Taiji stopped being a martial art (for the most part), and has reached a point where it is now taught as a dance routine with health benefits. As such it has lost its original scope, purpose and application. Chinese medicine in recent years is following a simi