Imagining Acupuncture: Images and the Early Westernization of Asian Medical Expertise

Abstract

Abstract While an increasing number of studies have now examined the textual transmission of medical knowledge from one culture to another, less work has been done on the role and impact of medical images and image-making in knowledge transmission and reception. Here, drawing on the example of acupuncture, I assess the ‘translation’ of images, their adaptation in response to the visual norms and medical politics of the receiving culture, and their enduring effects on early responses to Chinese medical expertise and practices in Europe.