Scientific Chinese Medicine: Adaptation and Compromise in Modern East Asia, 1850–1949

Abstract This paper examines the complex trajectory of Chinese medicine’s scientification (科学化) during the late Qing and Republican periods (1850–1949), analyzing how traditional medical knowledge adapted to and negotiated with Western scientific paradigms. Through examination of institutional responses, knowledge transfer networks, and evolving research methodologies, this work demonstrates that the development of scientific Chinese medicine represented a sophisticated process of cultural adaptation rather than simple Westernization. The research identifies three distinct phases—early debates and responses, Japanese influence and knowledge transfers, and research methodologies and institutional development. The 1929 controversy over Yu Yunxiu’s (余云岫) proposal to abolish traditional medicine marked a crucial turning point, catalyzing systematic modernization efforts within the traditional medical community. Japanese influence proved particularly significant through the development of scientific Kampo medicine and the establishment of research networks at institutions. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of scientific fields and Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory, the analysis reveals how different actors negotiated the transformation of traditional medical knowledge within changing social and political contexts. The study demonstrates that Japanese approaches to medical modernization, particularly in pharmacognosy research, provided an alternative model to Western biochemical analysis, emphasizing the preservation of traditional compound formulations while adopting modern scientific methods of converting Chinese medicine to modern. This study contributes to our understanding of medical modernization in East Asia by revealing the sophisticated ways in which traditional knowledge systems adapted to modern scientific requirements while maintaining their essential characteristics.