International TCM envoys

▶ Chinese and foreign practitioners meet halfway in overcoming barriers, connect ancient wisdom to world

Diarra Boubacar, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner from Mali, Africa, and the first foreign doctor in China to obtain a doctoral degree in TCM, had a curious experience on his first day of official practice.

When a patient opened the door of Boubacar’s consultation room and saw his black face, the patient made a beeline for the receptionist to inquire why the hospital had a foreign TCM doctor.

For fear of losing this patient, Boubacar was prompted to leave his consultation room and mingle with the patients in the waiting area, reassuring them of his qualifications as a TCM doctor.

Ultimately, he won the patient over with his expertise. Since then, Boubacar has seen growing public praise as well as an increase in dedicated patients who come specially to see him.

Three decades on, Boubacar is now a renowned “lao zhong yi” (experienced TCM doctor in Chinese) living in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province. He has also helped train more than 3,000 doctors in rural areas in southwestern China.

In the future, Boubacar wishes to help promote TCM to the wider world and let more people know about and experience the benefits of ancient Chinese wisdom along with the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Boubacar was quotes as saying by Sichuan news portal newssc.org.

Boubacar is not the only foreigner to fall in love with the ancient practice of Chinese medicine and spent decades learning and practicing it. Although the TCM itself has widespread acceptance in the international community, foreigners who are certified to practice both in China and abroad are few. Their shared wish is to lend a hand in overcoming language and cultural barriers and create smoother channels for TCM to go global.