Boundaries and classification: the cultural logic of treating foreign medicine

From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Western medicine emerged in China and was considered dangerous by Chinese residents. Relatedly, Chinese medical practitioners have attempted to use knowledge based on traditional Chinese medicine to explain the principles of Western medicine. From the 19th to 20th centuries, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was introduced to the United States, and American residents also described it as dangerous; they believed that TCM could only be accepted after scientific verification and explanation. This article uses the method of historical anthropology to explain these phenomena using boundaries as an analytical concept. This article finds that when foreign medicine crosses borders, it causes the disorganization of local classification systems. When a local classification system cannot provide a suitable location for foreign medicine, such medicine is easily regarded as dangerous by residents. The key to solving this problem is to use local classification systems to reinterpret foreign medicine. Reinterpreted by these local classification systems, foreign medicine can gain legitimacy within local societies. Based on this, the current article attempts to illustrate not only that science is a classification method but also that the boundary between science and nonscience is cultural in a sense, thereby undertaking corresponding cultural functions in daily life.

Yufan Xu