3. Traditional Chinese Medicine: The Human Dimension
Leung holds a PhD in Health Sociology and currently works as a clinician in Queensland Government in Australia. She grew up in Macau and Hong Kong where TCM was an integral part of people’s daily life. Therefore, her research is from a perspective of social science, emphasising the human expression and connection via TCM, in order to present the best core values of Chinese culture (p. viii). Her primary sources are the interviews with 48 participants, including 46 Chinese people living in Australia but originally from different Asian regions, and two westerners who also have close relations to TCM. Due to diverse ages and various backgrounds, the participants have different understandings of the theories and functions of TCM, but their memories of accepting it and actual practice of using it both contribute to the continuity of TCM, not only as a therapeutic method but also as an inbuilt component of Chinese culture. …show more content…
For the nine chapters, the author titles each with one particular Chinese character to encompass its key message, and meanwhile, to represent different dimension of Chinese people’s characteristics: connections, benevolence, beliefs, harmony, strength, filial piety, identity, leadership and finally, “the human dimension”. Like Unschuld, Leung also traces the etymological origins of certain Chinese characters and expressions to classic literatures such as Yi Jing (The Book of Changes) and Zhong Yong (The Doctrine of the Mean) . She even explains more than thirty Chinese metaphors and sayings in the appendix for better comprehension. On the original words of the participants, the author does not criticise directly but complements them with philosophical and ideological interpretations, for the purpose of showing the intrinsic values held by the Chinese people beneath their rhetoric
Leung holds a PhD in Health Sociology and currently works as a clinician in Queensland Government in Australia. She grew up in Macau and Hong Kong where TCM was an integral part of people’s daily life. Therefore, her research is from a perspective of social science, emphasising the human expression and connection via TCM, in order to present the best core values of Chinese culture (p. viii). Her primary sources are the interviews with 48 participants, including 46 Chinese people living in Australia but originally from different Asian regions, and two westerners who also have close relations to TCM. Due to diverse ages and various backgrounds, the participants have different understandings of the theories and functions of TCM, but their memories of accepting it and actual practice of using it both contribute to the continuity of TCM, not only as a therapeutic method but also as an inbuilt component of Chinese culture. …show more content…
For the nine chapters, the author titles each with one particular Chinese character to encompass its key message, and meanwhile, to represent different dimension of Chinese people’s characteristics: connections, benevolence, beliefs, harmony, strength, filial piety, identity, leadership and finally, “the human dimension”. Like Unschuld, Leung also traces the etymological origins of certain Chinese characters and expressions to classic literatures such as Yi Jing (The Book of Changes) and Zhong Yong (The Doctrine of the Mean) . She even explains more than thirty Chinese metaphors and sayings in the appendix for better comprehension. On the original words of the participants, the author does not criticise directly but complements them with philosophical and ideological interpretations, for the purpose of showing the intrinsic values held by the Chinese people beneath their rhetoric