Leon Rocha
Cambridge Research Fellow, Emmanuel College
This paper is part of a larger project historicising Joseph Needham’s Science and Civilisation in China. Here I analyse the 1980 book Celestial Lancets: A History and Rationale of Acupuncture and Moxa by Lu Gwei-Djen and Needham. Celestial Lancets combines a history of acupuncture, engagement with medical literature and consultation with scientific experts, accounts on tours of clinics and surgical theatres, and speculations on the future of Chinese medicine. Lu and Needham wanted to contribute towards an “ecumenical science”, and I show the ways that this book was entangled in the global politics of the construction of “Traditional Chinese Medicine”.
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