The Maltese Islands in the central Mediterranean was one of the earliest European countries to initiate political relationships with the People's Republic of China. The political interaction translated eventually to a better appreciation of the cultural diversity of the respective countries. This appreciation led to an early adoption of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services and their incorporation within the mainline western-based contemporary medicine generally practiced on the Islands. TCM clinical services were formally introduced in the public government-managed hospital in 1994 after a bilateral agreement was signed between the health ministries of the two respective countries. This service has now extended into the private health sector. The adoption of TCM clinical services, in the light of a greater acceptance of TCM by the patients, necessitated specific legislation to regulate the practice of TCM within the legal framework of the Maltese Healthcare Professions Act. In more recent years, since 2015, the University of Malta in collaboration with Shanghai University of TCM, have provided a postgraduate master program in TCM aimed at graduates holding a primary degree in a western-oriented health-care science.

The provisioning of health and well-being for every human being on the planet calls for a rethink of conventional medical practices. In both the developed as well as developing world contexts, there is a growing need to rejuvenate alternative medical systems, but they have to be modernized to have cross-cultural appeal and acceptance. This paper explores the clash between Western medicine and Indian traditional medicine in 19^th century colonial India which offers a historical precedent that could hold key lessons to the spread of traditional medicine across the world. The paper argues that the British government used biomedicine as a political tool to dominate Indians and resistance from Indian practitioners of traditional systems of medicines (TSMs) was systematically put down through policy measures. However, it was the clash between the medical modalities that transformed Indian TSMs forever as systems such as Ayurveda (the science of life) and Yoga took on the challenge and modernized and continue to have global appeal. The paper compares Indian and Chinese medical systems and argues that similarities in theory and practice in two different historical contexts, 19^th century India and modern-day China, enable us to understand the relevance of modernization practices in our contemporary world.

Chinese Medicine was introduced to the Malay Peninsula during the colonial era circa 18^th to 19^th century. The British imported Chinese immigrants mainly for tin mining. The early Chinese settlers had brought with them the knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to Malaya. As time goes by, TCM becomes one of the popular traditional medicines that are accepted by other ethnicities. TCM has thus contributed to the welfare of Malaysians. In 2016, a Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T and CM) Act was passed by the Malaysia Parliament. TCM is one of the T and CM practices that fall under the regulation. TCM services are now offered in Malaysia's public hospitals in addition to private practices. This article aims to provide a brief overview on the development of TCM in the precolonial and postindependent Malaysia.

Aroma fumigation is one of the traditional Chinese fumigating therapies. Moreover, the aroma culture is a combination of traditional Chinese medicine culture with Confucian and folk cultures. As historical marks, medical relics such as aroma utensils, herbs, and books can reflect the development and prosperity of aroma culture in history.

Medicines have been traded along the Silk Road from antiquity until modern times. These products and their associated knowledge have been transferred over the land and sea between Asia, Europe, and Africa. Numerous texts that contain formulas and treatments passed along the Silk Road. Collections of these formulas and treatment methods called formularies contain unique information that informs this transfer of medicine. The texts and information flowed in both directions along these routes and while Chinese medicine influenced foreign medical practices both in history, and today, the incorporation of non-Chinese medicine and information also continues to influence Chinese medicine.

The criticism against Chinese medicine by Lu Xun at the early stage is often taken as a sharp weapon to attack Chinese medicine. However, through a horizontal and sequential analysis of the relevant material, it can be seen that Lu has experienced a process of learning, practicing, and objectively assessing Chinese medicine, which is closely related to the social background of the period, personal experience, and changes of thoughts.

In thousands of years from the Pre-Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, crimson represents sacredness and good fortune in several dynasties and is honored in the hierarchy of colors. Meanwhile, introduction to the exotic Materia Medica for dyeing from the Silk Road trade greatly expands the dyeing category of red color. The exotic red dyestuff is eventually integrated into the red culture of the Central Plains through the localization process. Therefore, it becomes the color symbol on behalf of Chinese nation.

Like traditional Chinese medicine, Cheng Yu can also be viewed as a brilliant facet of traditional Chinese culture. In the essay, the author attempts to illustrate the close link between the two through some examples.

Styrax is also called “emperor's cream” and “consciousness-regaining spice.” The alias “emperor's cream” shows its rarity and preciousness with a strong aroma, and another name of “consciousness-regaining spice” implies its functions of active brain and regaining consciousness, dispelling filth with aroma, and relieving pain. The name of “Styrax” displays its complex productive progress and place of origin. With thick quality, heavyweight, and fragrant smesll, Styrax gets further application in beauty, skin care, clothes fumigating, and health keeping after introduced into the Central Plains (central China) from the Western Regions. The name of Styrax not only embodies the mellow appeal of spice culture in the Western Regions but also suggests the history of relationship between foreign culture and traditional Chinese medicine. Furthermore, it indicates the broad mind of “all rivers running into sea” and inclusiveness of Chinese culture.

Since the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon (c. 200 bce), Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has held that the san jiao system is the largest anatomical structure in the human body, and that it consists of a network comprising the large cavities in the body trunk and the small interstitial spaces between the tissues and cells throughout the body. More than 2000 years later, and according to recent scientific reports in America, this network of structures has been recognized by modern medicine. The two theories, TCM's san jiao and its system of spaces(腠còu), and the recent scientific discovery of an interstitial network in the human body, are quite similar in structure, distribution and function.

Gum Arabic (GA, called E-414 in the EU food industry), a natural biopolymer resin is a dried exudation obtained from the stems and branches of natural strains of Acacia Senegal (L) Willdenow. It consists mainly of high molecular weight polysaccharides and their calcium, potassium, and magnesium, which on hydrolysis yield arabinose, galactose, rhamnose, and glucuronic acid. Fermentable natural fiber of gum Arabic act as probiotics improves the absorption of minerals, especially calcium and helps to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Extraction, transformation, or reprocessing of nitrogenous wastes (ammonia, urea, and uric acid) by the GI tract is a potentially low-cost means of switching for missing renal function. Binding of nitrogen compounds to be inert orally by administration of gum Arabic is the safe solution either in normal renal function or renal failures. In this study, clinically, we observed a case of solitary kidney under adverse condition long-term treating with gum Arabic the vast potential of bioactive phytochemicals as a nontoxic, efficient with uric acid and bilirubin lowering agent and anti-inflammatory effects, considering the gum Arabic as a potential therapeutic supplement, beneficial in chronic renal failure, cardiovascular disease, pain management, and dental health. Despite the nonexistent background concerning the benefits of gum Arabic, for a solitary kidney under adverse conditions, our study has confirmed that long-term consumption of gum Arabic not only has no side effect but also protects multi-organs damage from drug adverse reactions and consequences of baseline disease, including renal, vascular, dental and inflammatory diseases.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been improving human health for millennia. And for that, it has gradually gained the attention of the global scientific community. TCM clinical research progresses, but slowly. I see it as being held back by perverse incentive structures in science and regulatory politics.