Today we've got what is for me I think the single most surprising

Skeptoid episode to date. It's about the history of how traditional Chinese medicine

came to be so popular in the West. And the surprising part is that what we tend to call

Chinese medicine is almost entirely the invention of Western book editors. Doesn't seem

possible? Well then, get ready for a wild ride.

Mao's barefoot doctors are today on Skeptoid.

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You're listening to Skeptoid. I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com. Mao's barefoot doctors,

the secret history of Chinese medicine. Today we're going to take a look at how Chinese

alternative medicine spread into the Western world. Promoters of alternative medicine claim

that this ancient wisdom was and is in common use throughout China and the Western world

is becoming aware of its value. Skeptics of this position point out that alternative medicine

was only used in Chinese rural areas where conventional treatments were not available and

it became popular because it was inexpensive, not because it was effective. The actual

history brings some interesting perspective to both these points of view.

So let's go back and visit revolutionary China around the middle of the 20th century.

Mao Taitong's great leap forward was in full swing, precedent to the cultural revolution.

...