Meridians & Electricity : Separate but related Existence

[Guest guest]

Aug.19,2002 5:30 pm

Melbourne ,Australia

 

Dear Guy,

 

I think I prefer that I be addressed by my first name i.e. " Rey "

instead of " professor " . I have'nt made any significant contrbution to the

study of Chinese medicine as a developing body of knowledge to deserve

such a title .

 

The whole point about my last message to the list ( and in some

previous ones as well ) is about how Chinese medicine as a growing body of

practice and practitioners in the Western world including Australia and

America , can co-exist generatively with our opposite number i.e.

biomedicine and the biomedical practitioners. If you look at the history of

the interactions between the two bodies of medical knowledge over the past

numnber of centuries, this " co-existence " is riddled with misunderstandings

vis-a-vis each other's culture of practice. Of course the role of

positivistic science, colonialism and imperialism is very much implicated

here. That is why it is very important to heed the lessons of history.

 

And one of the critical source of misunderstading between the two

traditions of healthcare is the ancient Chinese notion of Qi and one of the

ingenious product of modernity --electricity.Here in Australia, a study on

acupuncture prepared by the biomedical practitoner-dominated National Health

and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in l989 referred to the " Teh-Chi " in

acupuncture as a

 

" romantic interpretation of the fact that insertion and manipulation

of the acupuncture needle

must be relatively paianful so that it can constitute a second

noxious stimulus as reqired for

DNIC to operate. " (

 

Hence the NHMRC's recommendation is to make the TENS machine replace

acupuncture. The report thus concluded:

 

" TCNS (transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation) does not require laborious

training in traditional

Chinese medicine and fanciful theories embracing thousands of

acupuncture points; Nor

does it involve penetration of the body. Viewed in this way,

acupuncture is an elaborate

but unecessarily complicated means of achieving analgesia when a

clinically safer and

easier method is available. "

 

Chinese medicine practitioners here in Australia at that time

critiqued this 'hegemonic scientific " notion by the NHMRC and in the

process elucidated on the culture of acupuncture practice including the

notion of Qi and meridians . As a result of maintaining this critical but

engaged attitude vis-a-vis biomedicine we are able to define and continue

our unique practice which eventually was legitimated with the enactment of

the Registration Act in the year 2000 despite opposition

from some elements in the AMA.

 

And of course Qi has been mapped and will continue to be mapped.And I

do not mind the " subjective/objective " mapping of the Qi which is

expressed in the words you used " needle feeling " . And you have answered

your own querry about how this mapping can be done in another posting you

made to Michael . It will be done by a the TCM diagnostic method that is

" entirely that which can be felt, tasted, smelt.. sensed.. " and may I add

another three , that " which can be inquired upon " , " listened to " , and

" observed " . These are refered to in the Chinese language as si zhen or

Four Examination Techniques. And the content of these examination techniques

can be expressed in four Chinese scripts which are pinyinized as Wang, wen,

wen, qie. I understand that you only want to read " enlightened English

translations " of TCM materials. However, I have to refer to the notion of

Si Zhen in the Chinese language for they originally contributed (that is

linguistically) to giving life to these concepts.

 

Regards,

 

Rey Tiquia

Phd Candidate

Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science

The University of Melbourne

Parkville

Victoria

Australia

 

 

 

 

> In a message dated 8/18/2002 8:59:06 PM Central Standard Time,

> rey@a... writes:

>

> Dear Professor Tiquia:

>

> > The " leading Western proponent of

> > acupuncture in St. Louie " is actually a proponent of electrotherapy and

> > not acupuncture as we do it

>

> Please don't think for a second I to any of his theorems regarding

> acupuncture. Most of what he says is based on superstitions of the logical

> positivists.

>

> >> Having said this, however, I have to point out that the 'existence' of

> >>Qi and meridians have been mapped by numerous Chinese medicine

> practitioners

> >>and scholars in and out of China .

>

> Mapped how? Through subjective feeling? With PET scans? Thermographically?

>

> If you are going to say that Qi is not a construct, then don't you have to

> give it some type of objective reality?

>

> Do you think that electrons 1) exist? 2) are real ? 3) have ontological

> reality ? 4) can be observed?

>

> Then we must ask the same questions for Qi, and demonstrate our evidence for

> 1,2 and 4. #3 is merely a linguistic exercise.

>

> Guy Porter

>

> DrGRPorter@a...