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Educated Critique from Wang Huiyu

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the following message is from ,

12/12/02 5:09 PM

 

 

>You can't dismiss the clinical experience of an entire 200 year tradition of

>being about saving face. this could be true, but since the chinese are the

>kings of face savers, one would suspect this bias is magnified manyfold in

>TCM history and even modern practice.

 

Wang Huiyu responds:

 

It's dangerous to make that comment. Number one, it's stereotyping

Chinese people and culture, and is a fine line between racist and

cultural ignorance. Number two, and really more significant since you

are a teacher at a TCM school, anyone who has studied Zhong Guo Yi Xue

Shi (Chinese Medical History) and Ge Jia Xue Shuo (Study of Various TCM

Schools, which includes serious debates between and among each School)

formally as we did at Beijing TCM University, six units of each subject,

could point out the uneducated flaw in this logic. While it's possible

for individuals or families to alter truth in their practice to " save

face " (this applies especially to people who claim x-generation

practitioner status), almost all great TCM practitioners and writing in

past and present are very critical and well researched. For example, Wen

Bing School is a product of misuse and overemphasis on Shang Han. In

Japan they never got over Shang Han, which is fine, but that is also a

highly " face saving " society.

 

Another point, " saving face " in it's stereotypical sense doesn't apply to

the good old TCM doctors and scholars in the past. They belonged to an

academic tradition that was less concerned with their individual status

and more concerned with obtaining and disseminating knowledge to benefit

society. This is in the tradition of Ru2 Jia1.

 

If people on this list continue to ignore my point, then the only

explanation I have is that people are trying to " save face " by not

acknowledging their ignorance.

 

Wang Huiyu, BTCM (Beijing TCM University)

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almost all great TCM practitioners and writing in past and present are very critical and well researched

>>>>I for one have seen first hand deceptive research in China. So it does exist.This does not mean all research but much of what I have seen published from one hospital. I also continue to question 80% of patients with heart failure becoming symptom free for example. So while this kind of language is uncomfortable the journal we are quoting are real

Alon

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, " Alon Marcus " <alonmarcus@w...>

wrote:

> almost all great TCM practitioners and writing in

> past and present are very critical and well researched

> >>>>I for one have seen first hand deceptive research in China. So it does

exist.

 

as does deception exists also here in the states...Let us not put western

research on some golden hoop that everything that is 'vaild' must pass

through... IT is good, but not flawless, nor the only methodlody to 'truth' in

medicine/...

 

-JAson

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, Greg Livingston

<shanren@c...> wrote:

>In Japan they never got over Shang Han, which is fine, but that is

also a

> highly " face saving " society.

 

Thank you for your educated critique. You are very right, one may be

educated in some matters yet uneducated in others that one may speak

of. Perhaps you were unaware of the Gosei-ha school of Dozan Manase

et al which is based on Jin-Yuan theories and not solely on Shang Han

Lun.

 

As you say, it can be dangerous to make gross generalities, and we

are all guilty of it at one time or another.

 

Peace on earth, goodwill to others,

Robert Hayden

http://jabinet.net

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In Japan they never got over Shang Han, which is fine, but that is also a highly "face saving" society.

>>>I would only like to point out that there has been criticisms of western med research from Japan because of this issue.I remember reading it in a major medical journal

Alon

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as does deception exists also here in the states...Let us not put western research on some golden hoop that everything that is 'vaild' must pass through... IT is good, but not flawless, nor the only methodlody to 'truth' in medicine/... >>>>Totally agreed. There is panty of number forging. Just look at the recent Paxal issues were they changed the numbers to hide a higher rate of suicide. But you cant open a J and article after article see these totally unrealistic data

Alon

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The inescapable fact of human bias and prejudice must be realized.

Removing the observer from observed results is one issue in clinical

trials (it is practically impossible). Manipulating the data from

trials and studies is another issue.

 

 

On Friday, December 13, 2002, at 08:32 PM,

< wrote:

 

>>>>>> I for one have seen first hand deceptive research in China. So it

>>>>>> does exist.

>

> as does deception exists also here in the states...Let us not put

> western research on some golden hoop that everything that is 'vaild'

> must pass through... IT is good, but not flawless, nor the only

> methodlody to 'truth' in medicine/...

>

> -JAson

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, " kampo36 <kampo36> "

Perhaps you were unaware of the Gosei-ha school of Dozan Manase

> et al which is based on Jin-Yuan theories and not solely on Shang Han

> Lun.

 

In fact, it is my understanding that the gosei-ha school is older and that the

current emphasis on SHL for the past few hundred years is somewhat retro.

 

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, " <@i...> "

<@i...> wrote:

> ---

>

> In fact, it is my understanding that the gosei-ha school is older

and that the

> current emphasis on SHL for the past few hundred years is somewhat

retro.

>

 

 

Yes, Gosei-ha was based on Jin-Yuan writings brought to Japan in the

16th century by Tashiro Sanki an developed by his student Manase

Douzan. Kohou-ha was a reaction to Gosei-ha which started a century

or so later but reached its zenith (or nadir depending on your feling

about it) with Yoshimasu Toudou and his son Yoshmasu Nangai in the

18th-19th century. AFAIK the term Gosei-ha " Later " or " Neoteric "

school wasn't coined until the " classical " Kohou-ha defined

themselves. For a time, Jin-Yuan medicine was the dominant Chinese

medicine in Japan.

 

A subsequent attempt to combine useful aspects of both schools

resulted in a third stream, Setchuu-ha, the " syncretistic " school.

Today there is considerable interest in incorporating more TCM into

Kampo, though the dominant paradigm is the formula-pattern system

based on symptom-sign complexes pioneered by Yoshimasu pere et fils.

 

Thus to say the Japanese never got beyond SHL is not accurate.

 

Robert Hayden

http://jabinet.net

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Number two, and really more significant since

you

> are a teacher at a TCM school, anyone who has studied Zhong Guo Yi

Xue

> Shi (Chinese Medical History) and Ge Jia Xue Shuo (Study of Various

TCM

> Schools, which includes serious debates between and among each

School)

> formally as we did at Beijing TCM University, six units of each

subject,

> could point out the uneducated flaw in this logic.

 

Dr. Wang,

 

Setting aside your almost allegation of racism, your point is well

taken. The Chinese textbooks for these two classes are available for

purchase in Chinese bookstores in LA, SF, and NYC. They're not

expensive -- maybe $15 US.

 

Although there will always be better and worse read people in any

field of endeavor, due to the failure of the North American profession

to embrace Chinese language studies, many of us are like the seven

blind men and the elephant. We are limited by our partial personal

knowledge augmented by hear-say. From your point of view, I take it

that you feel many of us have yet to even learn what all Chinese

undergraduates learn as part of their basic course of instruction.

 

Sobering.

 

It's a symptom of our disease that no one on this list has actually

commented on the obvious recourse to the lack of basic knowledge you

have pointed out.

 

Thanks, Dr. Wang.

 

Bob

 

P.S. Racism is based on cliches. Unfortunately, the problems with

cliches are that they are always based on an element of truth.

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, Greg Livingston <

shanren@c...> wrote:

 

>

> It's dangerous to make that comment. Number one, it's stereotyping

> Chinese people and culture, and is a fine line between racist and

> cultural ignorance.

 

I won't even dignify this with a response, except to remind members that ad

hominem attacks are grounds for immediate permanent expulsion from this

group.

 

almost all great TCM practitioners and writing in

> past and present are very critical and well researched.

 

the word " great " is the key here. According to unschuld, most TCM

practitioners were not great. Most were average men who did the best they

could. we base our medicine on the work of the great ones, but there is no

doubt that your statement is unfounded exxageration when applied to all

docs, not just the great ones.

 

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the word "great" is the key here. According to unschuld, most TCM practitioners were not great. Most were average men who did the best they could. we base our medicine on the work of the great ones, but there is no doubt that your statement is unfounded exxageration when applied to all docs, not just the great ones

>>>And how much is myth and how much is reality?

Alon

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, " ALON MARCUS " <

alonmarcus@w...> wrote:

 

> >>>And how much is myth and how much is reality?

> Alon

 

I have no doubt there was vigorous debate about ideas, about which I remain

largely uneducated as Mr. Livingston suggests. but what could not have been

debated or at least resolved in any fashion was the question of efficacy.

Then, as today, this remains the big unknown and and as Mr. Ramholz has

pointed out on many occasions, no amount of debate or indignation can ever

resolve most of these matters. Only research can. thus, it seems quite likely

that ideas were passed on as a matter of dogma in some circles. this same

dogmatic reverence affected the practice of later galenic medicine, as well. It

is human nature that status quo ideas becomes fixed and rigid for periods of

time. the long reign of the SHL despite its failures is a case in point. Or

read

accounts of the history of stroke treatment by Fruehauf. It was long treated as

external wind despite this being prohibited today. As the bulk of my post

indicated, it is an open question who was more or less face saving, the

europeans or the chinese. It is a facile argument. My point was you can

dismiss both traditions or neither on this account. I choose to dismiss

neither.

 

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, Greg Livingston <

shanren@c...> wrote:

>

> Another point, " saving face " in it's stereotypical sense doesn't apply to

> the good old TCM doctors and scholars in the past. They belonged to an

> academic tradition that was less concerned with their individual status

> and more concerned with obtaining and disseminating knowledge to benefit

> society. This is in the tradition of Ru2 Jia1.

 

I find that hard to believe as do historians from outside China like Unschuld.

Wang hui yu's position is clearly invested in the truth of TCM. this is not the

position of a detached historian. What is being expressed above is the ideal,

not the reality. the reality is that 99% of those who used chinese herbs for

healing could not read or write at all. as for the motivations of those who did

write, I will assume they were human and leave it at that.

 

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