The Clinical Utility of the Concept of Jing in Chinese Reproductive Medicine

The concept of jing is fundamental in Chinese medicine (CM), yet English-language discourse using the concept reveals a variety of meanings that result in much potential confusion. In the currently-flourishing field of Chinese reproductive medicine in the West clinicians frequently diverge significantly from their biomedical peers, for example in claiming to be able to provide treatment for age-related pathologies of the human gametes - ascribed by modern CM to be manifestations of jing - that seem dubious from the perspective of modern biomedicine. In the context of the unclear ways in which the concept of jing is used, and the emotive sphere of reproductive medicine in which it operates, this paper presents an analysis of the English-language discourse relating to jing. It finds that the term tends to be used differently by various clinicians and scholars of CM, and that such uses depend on the specific requirements and agendas of the author in question.