Asian Medical Systems

A Comparative Study

Charles Leslie

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9780520364363
• eBook ISBN: 9780520322295
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

Asian Medical Systems: A Comparative Study explores the enduring relevance and evolution of traditional medical practices in Asia, emphasizing their interplay with modern cosmopolitan medicine. The book examines three major medical traditions—Chinese, South Asian (Ayurveda), and Mediterranean (Yunani)—that developed independently yet share foundational principles such as humoral theories of balance and equilibrium. These systems, formalized between the fifth century B.C. and the fifth century A.D., established authoritative texts, professional standards, and ethical codes that continue to influence contemporary practices. Despite the dominance of cosmopolitan medicine, rooted in scientific advancements like germ theory and modern surgery, traditional medicine in many Asian countries coexists with modern approaches, supported by educational institutions, research bodies, and professional organizations. This pluralism is particularly evident in nations like China and India, where both systems are often integrated into healthcare delivery.

The book highlights the pluralistic and adaptive nature of Asian medical systems, which provide insights into how traditional and modern practices complement each other. It challenges the perception of cosmopolitan medicine as uniquely scientific, arguing that Chinese, Ayurvedic, and Yunani systems also exhibit rational, systematic methods grounded in empirical observation and theory. By framing cosmopolitan medicine as "transcultural" rather than exclusively Western, the study underscores its global integration while recognizing the cultural, ecological, and social dimensions of health in Asia. Through multidisciplinary analysis, the work illuminates how medical systems evolve and intersect, offering a nuanced perspective on their coexistence and their potential for addressing contemporary health needs.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1976.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents 1
• List of Tables
• List of Illustrations
• List of Contributors
• Introduction
• The Practice of Medicine in Ancient and Medieval India
• Secular and Religious Features of Medieval Arabic Medicine
• The Intellectual and Social Impulses Behind the Evolution of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• The Modern Medical System the Soviet Variant
• The Sociology of Modern Medical Research
• Disease, Morbidity, and Mortality in China, India, and the Arab World
• Traditional Asian Medicine and Cosmopolitan Medicine as Adaptive Systems
• The Cultural and Interpersonal Context of Everyday Health and Illness in Japan and America
• Strategies of Resort to Curers in South India
• The Impact of Ayurvedic Ideas on the Culture and the Individual in Sri Lanka1
• The Social Organization of Indigenous and Modern Medical Practices in Southwest Sumatra
• Chinese Traditional Etiology and Methods of Cure in Hong Kong
• Systems and the Medical Practitioners of a Tamil Town
• The Place of Indigenous Medical Practitioners in the Modernization of Health Services
• The Social Organization and Ecology of Medical Practice in Taiwan
• Chinese Traditional Medicine in Japan
• The Ideology of Medical Revivalism in Modern China
• The Ambiguities of Medical Revivalism in Modern India1
• Indigenous Medicine in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Bengal
• World Views and Asian Medical Systems Some Suggestions for Further Study
• INDEX