Similarly many Chinese traditional medicinal techniques do work. Chinese medicine is undoubtedly “alternative medicine”. You can cure aches and pains using medicinal herbs. They probably aren’t as effective as scientifically synthesised compounds designed specifically for this purpose, but many of them actually work. Others are just placebo. The Chinese government regulates Chinese medicine in China and it is approved for use in many low-level medical applications. But if you have cancer, no herbs will save you and any claims to the contrary are just mere quackery.

Some Chinese medicinal techniques have made their way into “Western medicine”, as it is called in China. The most famous traditional Chinese medicinal practice adapted this way is variolation, which was refined by science and become vaccination.