[The issue and abolition of the Interim Regulations on Chinese Medicine Shops and Western Pharmacy Registration in the period of the Republic of China].

Abstract

The Interim Regulations on Chinese Medicine Shops and Western Pharmacy Registration issued by the Shanghai Bureau of Illegal Drugs in 1922, required that Chinese medicine shops in Shanghai area be audited, registered and pay registration fees. This regulation was abolished along with the dissolution of the Shanghai Bureau of Illegal Drugs in 1925. The Interim Regulations on Chinese Medicine Shops and Western Pharmacy Registration drove people, to some extent, to attach the importance and awareness of Chinese medicine and its administration. While it had some problems, such as improper intention and unclear concepts in the period of the Republic of China, a sound system for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) administration had not been established. It confirmed that Chinese materia medica has its unique knowledge system and development form, therefore, should not be uniformly administered as Western medicine. It indicated that TCM pharmacy administration should have a reasonable system and channels to promote the development of the Chinese materia medica industry.