Details of Research Outputs

Chinese medicine came to Canada during the twentieth century in the hands of ethnic Chinese immigrants. This paper investigates the key features of professionalized Chinese medicine practice in the city of Vancouver, which lies in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The methodology adopted for this research involved face-to-face interviews with practitioners and the scrutinizing of webpages of various institutes and clinics offering Chinese medical services. In order to comply with regulatory requirements, the practice of Chinese medicine has been professionalized according to western biomedicine, ignoring the historical development and cultural connotations of this ancient system of health and wellness. Many practitioners in Vancouver do not speak Chinese, share Chinese culture, and have never been to China. The education and service delivery under Chinese medicine specialties have focused exclusively on curative care and have disregarded the preventive and moral regimen. A consumer class has developed across the city and the holistic content of Chinese medicine has become a selling point. This paper concludes that the commodified version of Chinese medicine that has so far been developed in Vancouver as part of its professionalization echoes neo-orientalism. The West has intervened in the formalization process of Chinese medicine practice, justifying authority through the process of non-disputed inclusion. This is, however, an ahistorical proponent fulfilling new age desires and contaminating eastern healing in the west for profit maximization.