Manufacturing Tibetan Medicine

Martin Saxer received a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oxford and is currently a Marie Curie Fellow at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Since 2003, he has worked on the history and contemporary practice of Tibetan medicine in Russia (Buryatia) and Tibet. He is the director of the documentary film ‘Journeys with Tibetan Medicine’ and runs the visual ethnography blog theotherimage.com.

“This is an outstanding piece of scholarship… the overall structure of the book is excellent.”  ·  Sienna Craig, Dartmouth College“This is a timely and well-researched work that brings into focus the intersection between a globally expanding market in Tibetan medicine, the lived practice of medicine production, and issues pertinent to Tibetan identity. It is engaging and insightful, and nicely grounded ethnographically.”  ·  Denise M. Glover, University of Puget Sound“…a highly readable exploration of medical, socio-cultural, political, economic, and aesthetic issues in the industrial production of Tibetan medicine in the PRC. The author approaches this subject with a pleasing curiosity, often questioning in unexpected ways assumptions that are regularly made about Tibet. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.”  ·  Theresia Hofer, University of Oslo

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgementsNotes on Transliteration and TranscriptionAcronymsMap of TibetCast of Main CharactersChapter 1. IntroductionPerspectives on Tibetan medicineAku  JinpaOfficial ViewsThe Topic of InquiryIndustrial ModernitiesTibetanness and the Moral Space of TraditionThe Industry as AssemblageLanguage and TerminologyChapter 2. The Creation of an IndustrySowa Rigpa and TCM – Different TrajectoriesInterference and Non-InterferenceThe Making of TCMTentative Integration of Sowa RigpaTextbooks, Standardised Practice and PharmacyFrom Pharmacy to FactoryReform and RevivalSocialist Market EconomyFounding ShongpalhachuTibetan Drug Standards and Chinese PharmacopoeiaThe Introduction of Good Manufacturing PracticeOwnership and InvestmentRelations Between GMP Factories and HospitalsThe SFDA and National Drug RegistrationThe Size of the IndustryForces at WorkChapter 3. Manufacturing Good PracticeGMP in ChinaThe Steps of ProductionSourcing and Storage of Raw MaterialsSimple Pre-Processing: Washing, Trimming, SortingComplex Pre-Processing: TsothalGrinding, Mixing, and Making PillsSterilisationDryingRationales, PracticalitiesValidationSelf-InspectionChapter 4. Raw Materials, RefinedDomestic Sourcing StrategiesLong-term Relations to Village CollectorsCultivationCommercial TradersTransnational Trade and Border RegimesImport licencesTrader TacticsTaxonomy and LegibilityBusiness CulturesCITES and Nepalese AuthoritiesBaruGyatigBack to TibetTactics and StrategiesChapter 5. Knowledge, PropertyOwners and PiratesThe Problem of PatentsPrecious Pills, Precious PropertiesFiltering Knowledge‘Old’ and ‘New’ KnowledgeRandomised Controlled TrialsThe Knowledge CommodityDecoupling Forms of KnowledgeProperty, KnowledgeChapter 6. The Aesthetic EnterpriseDisenchantment, EnchantmentMendrupRituals of GMPPackaging RemediesDesignMaterialityAdvertisementThree CampaignsVisual ThemesThe Buddhist CompanyYuthogSpiritual SpaArura’s MuseumEnchanting Whom?Chapter 7. The Moral Economy of TibetannessThe Tibetanness EconomyPreservation and DevelopmentCivilisation, CultureTheme Parks: Manufacturing MinzuExhibiting Sowa Rigpa and a Farewell to GMPMorality and Spectacles of AuthenticityReal and FakeProfit and the Ethics of Being a DoctorThe Problem of TrustBalancing Profit with AltruismMorality at LargeBuilding a Harmonious Society, Resisting CultureThe Moral Economy at LargeChapter 8. ConclusionsFallaciesOne – Industry and ModernismTwo – Globalisation and SinicisationThree – KnowledgeAssemblage, RevisitedContemporary by AssemblageTerritorial by AssemblageBibliographyGlossary