Description Générale de la Chine and the Spread of Traditional Chinese Medicine to the West in the 18th Century

Abstract

Description Générale de la Chine is an important sinology masterpiece published in France in the late 18th century. Its author Jean-Baptiste Grosier summarized and rearranged a large number of first-hand materials to systematically introduce China's national traditions and culture. A great part of this book introduced ancient Chinese medicine, which facilitated the unbiased understanding of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Europe and fostered a knowledge dialogue between the Chinese and Western medicine systems. Such content also provided a historical reference for how to promote the further going out of TCM to the world.