Hands-on learning
Kristine Troutman is a nurse practitioner student from Florida, the US. She joined the study-abroad trip organized by the University of South Alabama to learn about Chinese culture and basic TCM knowledge. She wants to integrate traditional Chinese medicine into her practice.
來自佛羅里達州的Kristine Troutman是一名護理專業的學生。她通過其所在的南阿拉巴馬大學參加了這個遊學項目，希望瞭解中國文化和基本的中醫知識，並將她的所學運用到她今後的學習實踐中。
"This was really my first exposure to TCM, so I'm really interested in finding out the basic principles. I found it very fascinating," Troutman said. "I found it very difficult to do the manipulative therapy. But I can definitely see their worth in practice and how they can help."
Rex Berry from the US state of Kentucky is a medical science student from Duquesne University. He thought it would be a good idea to gain knowledge of different kinds of medicine from around the world. "Seeing different types of practices elsewhere can probably help me in my own practice," Berry said.
來自肯塔基州的Rex Berry是杜肯大學的一名醫學系學生。他覺得了解世界各地不同的醫學對他自己的學習會有益處。
Berry had seen tuina therapies in videos but had never learned them in a classroom. "The concepts are easy to understand, though it's hard to put them into practice, which takes years. But Li did a good way of simplifying them for us," Berry said.
Morgan Wimberry from the University of South Alabama also had her first practice of TCM at Li's lecture. She is a healthcare administration major who joined the program to experience different cultures and see how Eastern medicine is practiced compared with Western medicine.
"I really like Professor Li's class. He's good at explaining things. He has some hands-on portions for us where we got to try different things," Wimberry said.
TCM in English
After SHUTCM set up an English language acupuncture-moxibustion and tuina major in 2003 to promote TCM overseas, Li, a doctor from Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine affiliated to SHUTCM, was invited to the university to give English lectures.
His foreign students include those from short-term study-abroad TCM programs and also long-term foreign students who are furthering their studies at SHUTCM.
Zhanar, 26, from Kazakhstan has been studying acupuncture and tuina at SHUTCM for the past five years. She prefers TCM to Western medicine because she thinks TCM uses more natural substances such as herbs. She thinks the biggest difficulty foreign students face when studying TCM is the language. But since Li's lecture is in English, she doesn't find it difficult to understand the concepts. "To study medicine, you must clearly understand it," Zhanar said.
Different from many Chinese doctors of Western medication science who studied abroad, Li has given lectures to many foreign students even though he himself never studied abroad.
儘管李教授的學生遍佈世界，但他不像別的許多中國醫生那樣有過海外留學經歷，他從未留過學。
Influenced by his family members - his mother was a medical science professor at the former Shanghai Medical College and his wife is a current English professor from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University - the TCM doctor obtained his bachelor's, master's and doctorial degrees at SHUTCM and is excellent at both medical science and English language skills.
受到家庭成員的影響，他的母親是原上海醫科大學的醫學教授，而他的愛人是復旦大學上海醫學院的英語教授，他本人則是在上海中醫藥大學完成了本科，碩士和博士學位，且跨界精通中醫和英語。
Li's English talent was first revealed as early as 1988, when an American patient who could not speak Chinese was seeking treatment at Yueyang Hospital. No other doctor could speak English at that time except Li. Finally, Li interpreted for the patient and the president of the hospital.
Since then, more and more foreign patients and guests come to the hospital for treatment or to study. Over the years, Li has demonstrated, taught and promoted tuina therapy in many overseas countries as a TCM doctor or as a teacher.
Li once treated a White House doctor with his palm back rolling manipulation when he visited the US. He also treated a high-level executive of an American medication group with his "one finger" manipulation.
Gaining popularity overseas
As deputy director of manipulative therapy specialty commission of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, a non-governmental international academic organization which promotes TCM across the world, Li demonstrates and promotes tuina therapy overseas every two or three years during the World Congress of Chinese Medicine held by the organization.
The congress is held in different countries across the world and is attended by people from all over the world who are interested or specialized in TCM.
Last year, Li promoted tuina and acupuncture in Dubai, where China's State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine launched its Dubai center of TCM. His treatment was praised by some Dubai officials and their family members. Later this year, he will fly to either Canada or Germany to showcase the effectiveness of the TCM therapy.
Veerachai Soottitantawat, 47, is a Chinese-Thai national who is doing his PhD at SHUTCM. He finished his undergraduate program of TCM in Thailand, where he first met Li, who was sent to his university to teach TCM. Inspired by Li, Soottitantawat continued his postgraduate studies at SHUTCM for three years then went back to Thailand to pursue his career.
Two years ago, Soottitantawat returned to Shanghai to further his studies at SHUTCM. "Thailand also has its own massage therapy, but its techniques are different from TCM's tuina," Soottitantawat said.
Sarah, a German student of Li, who took part in an exchange program in SHUTCM, did a part-time job at her German college mentor's clinic. Once, a patient was not willing to receive surgery for a backache and pains in the lower limb. Since she studied TCM in China, her mentor asked if she could do something for the patient with TCM therapies.
Sarah used tuina to relieve the patient's pains. After graduation, her mentor asked her to work at the clinic. "A few years ago, she wrote to me and wanted to learn tuina for the treatment of cervical spondylosis," Li said. "The cost of surgeries is very expensive in overseas countries. If the problem is not serious, tuina can solve the problem without costing much. This is also why tuina is popular."
Standardized terminology
"Different from Western medicine, which is a chemical, tuina is a physical and natural therapy that is becoming very popular in Western countries," said Li, whose effective treatments and demonstrations overseas helped enhance TCM's popularization in overseas countries.
Troutman thinks more Americans are gradually accepting TCM. "So I'm hoping to bring it to the forefront and hope to apply what I learned into my practice," Troutman said.
"As China grows stronger, more Chinese culture is being exported. As an indispensable part of Chinese traditional culture, TCM can be used as a starting point to spread Chinese culture," Li said.
Li thinks the promotion of TCM through tuina is easier than acupuncture because tuina is more easily accepted for its convenience and comfort. "Many overseas countries and regions demand licenses to practice acupuncture with needles," Li said. "And the comfortable feeling generated by beta-endorphins when receiving tuina treatment also makes the therapy increasingly popular."
"Tuina used to be called anmo (Chinese for massage) in ancient China. But that type of massage is different from what is today conducted at roadside massage parlors. Ancient anmo used to be a part of Chinese medical science.
"Tuina is a manipulative therapy for disease treatment and prevention, or health care under the guidance of TCM principles. So the standard name of the therapy should be tuina. Although roadside massages can also offer relaxation, it has no real medical effect."
The popularization of TCM cannot be accomplished without a precise translation. According to Li, there is no standardization commission for the English translation of TCM in China. But over the years, English translations of some TCM terminologies have become fixed, such as yin, yang, qi, qigong and tuina.
Li is involved in a project by the World Health Organization to develop a standardized terminology for TCM practices. Li is responsible for the Chinese and English translations of tuina terms.
"Public English translators or translators who know only about Western medicine cannot translate TCM into English precisely. Since TCM is a part of Chinese traditional culture, TCM practitioners should first bring forward TCM concepts and translate them into English.
"During the translation process, we can discuss this with foreigners. With the internationalization of China, there are more opportunities for TCM practitioners to communicate with foreigners," Li added.
Li often discusses TCM translation with his wife, who graduated from Shanghai International Studies University and is now teaching English at Fudan.
"It is impossible to find a completely equivalent English translation for every TCM concept. Sometimes we have to differentiate some concepts and persist to the Chinese elements. For example, I insist on using the pinyin word for tuina instead of the word 'massage' when translating the traditional Chinese massage."
原文/翻譯：Stella Du
圖：Stella Du、受訪者
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