Abstract: The Encyclopedia of Western Medicine composed by Layle and other British doctors in the mid-19th century was one of important works on herbal medicine in the transition period of Western medicine and pharmacology in modern times. It was also the largest translated work on medical science in the late 19^th century. In the Encyclopedia of Western Medicine, four people in the field of Chinese medical science and a treatise on Chinese medicine are mentioned and some of Chinese medicine are described in terms of manufacturing locations and foreign trade, which shows Western scholars' writing and knowledge of Chinese medicine. However, according to the relative account in the Encyclopedia of Western Medicine, it is easy to find out that the knowledge of Chinese medicine has been margined in the medical knowledge network formed in the Sino-Western cultural exchange since the era of early globalization. We must analyze the position of Chinese medicine in modern medical science in the world by inserting modern Chinese medical science in the huge network of Sino-Western exchange.

Key words: Encyclopedia of Western Medicine, Chinese medicine, rhubarb, tea, cultural exchange, knowledge network