"Sharpen up" acupuncture study

 　　BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Although it is home to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), China must do much more to improve its academic research capacity for acupuncture¹, a form of TCM, to take the lead worldwide on both the academic and clinical sides.

　　At present, among all academic theses on acupuncture indexed by the Science Citation² Index (SCI), a leading world thesis index system, only 5 percent are from the Chinese mainland, according to Wang Linpeng, the director of the acupuncture and moxibustion center of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is affiliated³ with the Capital Medical University.

　　Although Chinese acupuncturists absolutely excel worldwide in clinical practice, "they are not as good as their foreign peers in academic capacity, particularly Western-style research methods and lab experiment design," he told China Daily on Friday during the 2011 International Symposium⁴ on Acupuncture.

　　Studies by TCM practitioners⁵ - including acupuncturists - largely focus on their area of specialization, and few are in line with global interest in the medical science that has been proven effective over thousands of years, he said.

　　"Chinese TCM practitioners are very good at treating conditions, but they are clumsy at showing how and why it really works in an internationally accepted 'language' and 'manner'," said Gao Sihua, chancellor⁶ of the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

　　"It's especially true in TCM circles, where few Chinese practitioners would regularly follow international academic articles and research trends," Wang said.

　　Measured by the number of articles on acupuncture indexed by SCI, the US and European countries lead globally, he said.

　　If nothing changes, it could be that in 30 years, the Chinese would have to learn from foreigners about TCM, warned Wang Guoqiang, who heads the State Administration of TCM.

　　In Wang's opinion, the issues foreign experts study when it comes to acupuncture are quite basic for most Chinese researchers.

　　"They just know better about the lab research design and methods," he said.

　　Chinese are also capable of doing high-level research into TCM including acupuncture, up to internationally recognized standards and having more theses indexed by SCI, he said.

　　Some TCM experts have warned that following this course could hurt TCM's characteristics. Wang, however, disagreed.

　　"Explaining well why and how TCM works internationally also helps Chinese researchers deepen their understanding of the medical science," he said.

　　Nicola Robinson, editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Integrative Medicine, urged Chinese TCM experts to do more research into TCM based on lab evidence.

　　Although it is practiced in more than 160 countries, acupuncture has not been integrated into national health services in most of these countries, largely because the lab-based evidence is not good enough, she said.

1 acupuncture   

n.针灸，针刺法，针疗法

参考例句：

• Written records show that acupuncture dates back to the Song Dynasty.文字记载表明，宋朝就已经有了针灸。
• It's known that acupuncture originated in China.众所周知，针灸起源于中国。

2 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

3 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

4 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

5 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

6 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。