.
Ming & Qing Dynasties (1368-1911):
In the mid-14th century, the Chinese revolutionary armies occupied the south. One of them drove the Mongolians away and defeated the others. The Ming Dynasty (明朝) began its rule in China. In 1644, the descendants of the former Jin (金國, 1115-1234) conquered China and 'succeeded' the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty (清朝) was the last hereditary empire in the Chinese history.
During this period, the emperors raised the position of intellectuals to gain their support. Some of the intellectuals studied medical science. The growth of capitalism and the prosperity in early Qing provided a good environment for the advanced growth of medical science. However, the Qing government 'closed the door'. Chinese medicine missed a chance to learn from the advanced western technology. Later when the west 'reopened the door' by force, China was too weak to support further medical development.
The Modern Republics (1912-):
Starting from 1895, the revolutionary movement led by Sunzhongshan (孫中山) became real battles. In October 1911, they occupied Hubei Province (湖北省). Soon after that, the other provinces declared independency as response. In 1912, the Republic of China was established. And the Qing emperor abdicated. But China fell into the rule of warlords immediately. Later the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party worked together and ended the disunity. But another war broke out between them from 1927. During 1931-1945, China faced the Japanese invasion. Then in 1946, the two parties fought again. The Nationalist Party lost and fled to Taiwan. In 1949, the People's Republic of China was established. But the communists ruled China badly until 1979, the year when they first practiced the market system. China has been experiencing a rapid economic growth from then on.
During this period, the importance of Chinese medicine declined because of the western influence. However many of the people were too poor to afford western medicine. Some 'tasty' traditional Chinese medicine, for example herbal teas, became popular as normal drinks. In the universities, experts rearranged and annotated the ancient classics about medicine. They also referred to the western medicine for scientific explanations of Chinese medical theories. In the recent decades, Chinese medicine develops in a modern way by using western technology to advance itself. In Hong Kong, the old medicine shops becomes to look like modern drugstores, and the old herbal tea shops becomes to look like modern restaurants.
.
Go to the previous page
Back to the Contents