ABSTRACT
The symbolic consumption of Traditional Chinese Medicine evokes thediscourses of identity. Participants often used dualistic discourses, in particular to describe human relationships, which are socially constructed. Traditional Chinese Medicine was perceived as a form of ‘cultural heritage’ or ‘Chinese treasure’, embracing shared meanings of Chinese identity in the Chinese diaspora. The use of Traditional Chinese Medicine to enhance physical appearance designates a relationship with social identity. The metaphor of Traditional Chinese Medicine as ‘strength’ symbolises masculine identity. Binaries such as this are geared toward the archetype of Chinese dualisms, yin and yang, in terms of human relationships. Through identity, one
is able to define the self, and to locate the self in relation to others. The human relational properties of identity and binaries are strategic concepts that are dynamic, changeable, and contextually and socio-culturally specific. For Foucault, this quest for self-understanding is a ‘perpetual task’ and ‘the foundation of all human endeavour’, and ‘it is through creativity that our power is revealed, and it is in our capacity to use it well that our destiny lies’ (Hutton 1988:139).
