ACUPUNCTURE ANESTHESIA. WESTERN MEDICINE AND CHINESE TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

Abstract

In September 1971, Paul Dudley White, myself, and our wives were invited to the People's Republic of China by the China Medical Association. We were asked by our Chinese hosts to indicate specific interests, and among these I identified acupuncture. In a previous report in theNew England Journal of Medicine1I described my acupuncture experience in Saigon. Earlier (1946-1947) I had seen the practice of acupuncture and moxa in Japan. The China Medical Association and the many individual physicians could not have been kinder, and made every effort to allow me to see the full range of medical practice in China today. The practice of medicine and the national policy of China are inseparable and this report can only be rational if the political reality is identified.