Cultural Resilience of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Global Health Regime

Bibliographic Data

ID8248945
AuthorsTsui Sit (0000-0002-4534-7409, Southwest University, corresponding author), Sit Tsui (corresponding author), Lau Kin Chi (Lingnan University), Kin Chi Lau (0000-0002-6065-7341, Programme on Cultures of Sustainability at the Centre for Cultural Research and Development; Cultural Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China)
Year2026
Volume15
Issue1
Pages93-120
Publication date2026-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgrarian South Journal of Political Economy A triannual Journal of Agrarian South Network and CARES (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2277-9760 • E-ISSN: 2321-0281
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/22779760251415172
OpenAlexW7125809330
LanguageEN
References cited4

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the Chinese government and people to utilize traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in addressing the crisis. It is not only a question of the effectiveness of herbal treatment but also an alternative philosophy of life, countering capitalist logic based on the survival of the fittest and an orientation toward profit-making. This article argues for the cultural resilience of TCM during the pandemic, then revisits its history of subjugation in modern China. Although this millennial tradition was subsumed within one century under the powerful Eurocentric discourse, TCM remains vibrant at the grassroots level. The article concludes that the revival of traditional medicine from the Global South is one of the important and effective ways of decolonizing medical terrains

China · Global health · Government (linguistics · Grassroots · Pandemic · Psychological resilience · Resilience (materials science · Survival of the fittest · Traditional Chinese medicine · Chinese history and philosophy · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Traditional Chinese Medicine Studies

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