The Unique Phenomena in the Meeting between Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese Medicine during the 17th and 18th Centuries

Abstract

Based on academic achievements of, primarily, Chinese and Vietnamese researchers including materials recorded in the form of writings, reports, diaries, and letters sent to Europe by Western missionaries operating in China and Vietnam in the 17th and 18th centuries, and at the same time combining the application of two main research methods of Science and History (historical method and logical method) with other research methods (systematization, analysis, synthesis, statistics, etc.) and especially the comparative method, this article aims to clarify two points of focus. The first is the open attitude of Chinese and Vietnamese rulers in accepting Western medical achievements and the positive, respectful, and admiring views of some missionaries towards different aspects of traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine. The second is the contradiction in some Western missionaries' perception and actions when they criticized the superstition in the way of disease diagnosis and treatment of the Vietnamese and Chinese, especially the Taoist priests, however they committed to such approaches in the process of examining and treating indigenous people. The study of some of the phenomena that arose during the connections made between Western medicine and traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine in the 17th and 18th centuries as mentioned above would make a certain contribution to the study of the history of the East-West cultural exchange in China and Vietnam in general, as well as the medical history in the two countries, in particular during this period.