When Traditional Chinese Medicine Meets Western Medicine: The Practice of Scientification in Modern Shang Han Lun Theory

Abstract: Against the backdrop of the modern-era conflict between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, during which Western medicine gradually gained administrative authority over public health, Chinese medicine faced an existential crisis. Due to Shang Han Lun (《伤寒论》 Treatise on Cold Damage) being characterized by its emphasis on clinical efficacy rather than metaphysical speculation, and under the influence of Japanese Kampo medicine, which highly valued the study of Shang Han Lun and promoted Chinese-Western integration, Shang Han Lun Theory emerged as a primary breakthrough point for the scientification of TCM. Modern-era scholars of Shang Han Lun Theory developed innovative interpretations of the Six Meridians from multiple perspectives, including reinterpretation based on syndromic patterns, Organ Structures and Physiopathological Mechanisms, the Stage-Based Model, and Pathological Location and Nature. They also incorporated new scientific knowledge such as bacteriology, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology to reinterpret the etiology, medicinals, and formulas within the Shang Han Lun.Moreover, these scholars pioneered the clinical co-application of Western pharmaceuticals with Shang Han Lun–based formulas, introduced Western diagnostic instruments into TCM clinical practice, and explored institutional models of the Integration of TCM and Western Medicine. These innovations and transformations led to the formation of a new research paradigm within Shang Han Lun Theory, which not only countered the criticisms from Western medicine, thereby preserving the academic and clinical space for TCM, but also initiated a new educational model for Shang Han Lun studies. More importantly, it laid a crucial theoretical and practical foundation for the post-1949 development of the Integration of TCM and Western Medicine, marking a significant milestone in the modern history of Chinese medicine.