The evolution of “traditional” medicines frequently involves transnational circulation, appropriation, and the redefinition of their knowledge and techniques by local cultures. This dynamic is particularly evident in therapeutic practices originating from Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture and moxibustion, massage, and the prescription of remedies derived from the Chinese pharmacopoeia. This article focuses specifically on the context of France, examining how knowledge and know-how related to Chinese medicines have been constructed and how they circulate between the mid-twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Furthermore, this article explores how Chinese medical thought and practices developed during different historical periods were also conditioned by the professional orientation and intellectual aims of the different key figures of this medical knowledge. By analysing individual itineraries (Jami 2017) of these key figures, this article shows how a distinct medical knowledge and practice, identified as “French Traditionalist Acupuncture,” emerged in France influenced the medical landscape of acupuncture practices throughout Europe up to the present day.
