Table 1 Dimensions of dangerous medicine.
From: Boundaries and classification: the cultural logic of treating foreign medicine
Medical scenarios | ||
|---|---|---|
Western medicine in China (16th–19th century) | TCM in the US (19th–20th century) | |
Dangerous dimensions | ||
Bring about physical harm | Eye gouging, kidney extraction, and uterus removal | Acupuncture is physical abuse; scary animal drugs |
Immoral | Missionaries use Western medicine to harass believers | Deceive patients; break the law |
Sense of political crisis | Catholicism impacts Confucian ethics | TCM is associated with dictatorship |
Social harm | Use of poison gas to cause a plague | Spread disease; endanger the state |
