Abstract:

Medical folklore was an important folklore topic discussed in the academic circle of the Republic of China. This discussion was also carried out in the context of the great debate of Chinese and Western culture at that time. In order to meet the urgent need of China’s modern transformation, the academic circles of the Republic of China carried out critical research on medical folklore from different perspectives such as literature, religion, medicine and folklore. They took criticizing medical folklore as an important approach to carry forward science, get rid of superstition and emancipate the mind. To some extent, this critical research met the needs for the development of the mainstream intellectual trend and practical changes at that time, but there was also a tendency to simplify the complex medical folk phenomena, which also had a certain negative impact on the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine culture. In today’s context, sorting out and reflecting on the relevant problems and perspectives of the research on medical folklore in the Republic of China can not only provide reference and enlightenment for the research and construction of contemporary medical folklore, but also provide theoretical and methodological inspiration for the research on the history of medical culture under the background of the epidemic.

Key words: the academic circle of the Republic of China, medical folklore, traditional Chinese medicine, reforming and inheriting