Abstract:

The “Chinese root”, namely, the Chinese herbal “Glabrous Greenbrier Rhizome”, was brought to Europe by Portuguese merchants in the early 16^th century and was regarded as the “holy wood” by European physicians. Exploring why the writer of Radicis Chynae chose the “Chinese root” to illustrate his epochal and subversive scientific ideas, this paper analyses the impact of the Western transmission of traditional Chinese medicine since the 16^th century on the shift in scientific thinking in the Renaissance. It also attempts to explore, from the perspective of knowledge power and academic authority, how the changes in medical concepts and methodology were influenced by hidden political forces, such as imperial will and academic authority, during the transition of European medicine from classical to modern times when science was first emerging, and how the construction of methodology was accomplished through academic language. The role and influence of the “Chinese root” will be examined in such a context.

Key words: Chinese root, Glabrous Greenbrier Rhizome, Vesalius, Charles V