Congratulations to Mr. Brian Po-Huei Hsieh (PhD, Year 1), who has been awarded the Asian Society for the History of Medicine (ASHM) Taniguchi Medal 2012.

The prestigious medal commemorates the late Mr. Taniguchi Toyosaburo. For over two decades Taniguchi’s foundation supported research in the history of medicine, particularly in comparing the East and the West, and, each year, the Taniguchi medal is awarded to a postgraduate student for an outstanding research paper. This year, Brian earned the award with a paper titled Wang Shuhe Maijue (The Pulse-diagnostic Song of Wang Shuhe 王叔和脈訣) Controversy and the Construction of Scholarly Medical Knowledge in Late Imperial China.

Brian’s article takes on both a theoretical and a practical perspective and probes into the use of pulse diagnosis from Northern Song to late Ming dynasty. Particularly of interest is how pulse diagnostics caused a groundswell of opinions in late imperial China, reshaping public attitude towards traditional medicine.

The award will be presented at the ASHM annual meeting, held in Tokyo from November 29 to December 1, 2012. Brian will attend the presentation ceremony.