ABSTRACT
Traditional Chinese medicine, often abbreviated as TCM, is a term coined in the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s to translate the Chinese zhongyi. It refers to a form of medical learning where the prevailing reasoning is in terms of systemic correspondences, including the so-called five phases or five agents (wuxing), and where philosophical concepts such as yinyang and qi affect everyday practice. This chapter discusses key aspects of the history of TCM in early socialist China (1950s) and ethnographies about TCM practice in post-Maoist China (1980s onwards). Overall, it aims to convey a sense of the variety, richness, and complexity of Chinese medical learning and practice. Chinese medical texts and practice tend to work with impersonal life forces like qi or spirit (shen) but also have a long history of making reference to magical, demonic, and religious procedures.
