This current issue continues the dialogue on two thematic pillars that have recurred in past EASTS articles. The first is traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a topic which EASTS has extensively explored before (e.g. Special Issue “The Globalisation of Chinese Medicine and Meditation Practices,” Vol. 2, Issue 4, 2008). Two research articles and one essay in this issue further this discourse, offering insightful perspectives on the globalization of TCM from three distinctive angles.
In “Chinese Medicine as Boundary Object(s): Examining TCM’s Integration into International Science Through the Case of Australian–Chinese Research Collaboration,” Brosnan et al. explore how TCM has penetrated Western bioscience despite its initial categorization as an alternative and often incompatible form of medicine. The study focuses on Australia, where TCM has been recognized as a significant area of Sino-Australian cooperation and is actively researched within mainstream scientific institutions. Through interviews with Australian scientists from a wide range of scientific fields, including computational genetics, plant biology, physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and Western clinical medicine, the article reveals how TCM functions as a boundary object—conceptual and material entities that facilitate communication and collaboration across diverse contexts. The researchers underscore the importance of institutional agreements and boundary actors in legitimizing TCM within the scientific community, thereby promoting cross-cultural and interdisciplinary knowledge exchange.
Turning to historical archives to follow a specific case of how TCM has crossed cultural boundaries, in “EUMENOL—Merck’s Patent Emmenagogue and Its Chinese Connections (1896–1961),” Lee and Chen delve into the historical trajectory of Eumenol, a patent medicine derived from the Chinese herb danggui (當歸). This narrative traces the fascinating story of its journey from a traditional Chinese herbal remedy to its commercialization by the German pharmaceutical company Merck. The article highlights the reciprocal influences between Eastern and Western medicinal practices, while also reflecting on the socio-economic and political factors that eventually led to the cessation of Eumenol’s production. Eumenol’s success on the international stage exemplifies the dynamic process of boundary-crossing, from Asia to Europe, and from herbal medicine to modern pharmaceutical science.
Looking at a more contemporary example of how TCM has played a role in modern science, the essay by Yao titled “More Than Just Cultural Nationalism: A History of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China’s Manned Space Program” discusses the history of the adoption of TCM in aerospace medicine. The article demonstrates how techniques such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, and TCM diagnostic instruments have been utilized to maintain the health of Chinese astronauts, prevent space motion sickness, and monitor health during space missions. This modern adaptation of TCM underscores its versatility and potential in addressing the unique challenges of space travel, illustrating an innovative way in which traditional practices can be harmonized with advanced technology.
The second thematic pillar explored in this issue focuses on the practices of personal digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the article “Memes of Care: Good Morning Images and Digital Care among Older People in Taiwan,” Lee offers an intimate ethnographic view into the social media practices of Taiwanese seniors. The study examines how the circulation of “good morning images” (GM images) on the LINE messaging app creates a new social network for the elderly, fostering a digital subculture centered around care and connection. While GM images promote social bonds and provide emotional support during times of isolation, the study also addresses the negative aspect of this sharing culture, such as the spread of misinformation (a topic that crosses over with the EASTS lecture on digital ethnography by Professor John Postill, as noted in News and Events in this issue). Echoing the interplay between the traditional and the modern explored in the articles on TCM, “Memes of Care” highlights the fascinating ways in which digital technology is integrated into traditional cultural practices of social relation, care, and reciprocity. This study offers particularly insightful observations for understanding a culture that emerged against the backdrop of a rapidly aging society, mediated by the pandemic.
Finally, turning our focus from Taiwan to India, we have the research note “Aarogya Setu: Mapping Citizen Interaction with the Contact-Tracing App in the Time of COVID-19.” Contact-tracing apps were developed worldwide to enhance health security during the pandemic, each with different design choices tailored to their specific national contexts. In this article, Narain investigates how Indian citizens interact with the Aarogya Setu contact-tracing app, revealing a range of responses from adoption to evasion. Resistance to the app reflects citizens’ skepticism toward state-imposed “care” for their personal health and highlights broader institutional shortcomings when relying on technological solutions. Distrust in the state, technological illiteracy, lack of access to personal digital devices, and overarching socio-economic inequalities in India result in inconsistent app usage and undermine the effectiveness of the app’s digital contact-tracing efforts. At the same time, these practices emphasize the agency of users in navigating digital landscapes and provide important perspectives on the social and health-related dimensions of digital tool usage.
Lastly, we would like to highlight our book review section. As a platform dedicated to bridging STS scholars across national and linguistic borders, one of our primary goals at EASTS is to introduce non-English books on STS issues to English readers through book reviews. We warmly welcome excellent works written in local languages to be reviewed in EASTS. For this issue, three books are reviewed: Wombs of Empire: Population Discourses and Biopolitics in Modern Japan (2023) by Sujin Lee, Body, Society, and Nation, the Creation of Public Health and Urban Culture in Shanghai (2018) by Chieko Nakajima, and The Gilded Cage: Technology, Development, and State Capitalism in China (2023) by Ya-Wen Lei.
