• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2014

Traditional medicine in Asian countries show similarity according to geography, building up their own medical tradition upon indigenous cultural background. Mongolian medicine, in particular, displays district fusion of several medical systems accepted from neighboring countries adding to their traditional system. Those are Mongol Dhom medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion medicine, medicine of "Four Medical Tantras (四部醫典)", and combined system of Mongolian and biomedicine. Compared to East asian medicine, this is a different kind of diversity or hybridity resulting from idiosyncrasy of nomadic culture. Each current of Mongolian medical tradition has its own origin of historical backdrop. Mongol Dhom originated from ancient nomadic life, and medicine of "Four Medical Tantras (四部醫典)" was formed along with transmission of Tibetan Buddhism. Acupuncture and moxibustion is directly related to Chinese medical tradition, however, moxibustion is also referred to be regional origination. Lastly, biomedicine was transplanted during the modernization era, encouraging scientific approach toward Mongolian traditional medicine and producing combined medical practice. It is effective to derive each particular aspects of Mongolian medicine and analyze its specificity, in order to properly understand current Mongolian medical system. This paper aims at discovering socio-cultural meanings of each current and their nomadic feature beneath the diversity.