Woo medicine in the Celestial Empire

The friendship between Venice and Suzhou, an ancient water city in the Chinese province of Jangsu, spans over many years: the twinning dates back to 1980 and every year at least one cultural initiative is promoted to remember this strong relationship between the two cities. This year Venice offers Suzhou the Scuola Grande di San Marco and the skills of the Ca’ Foscari University and the Confucius Institute. So, one of the most important places in the history of Venetian and Western medicine opens its doors to the Chinese medical culture, in a fascinating encounter for the many differences in practices and in the spirit in which, while sharing the purposes of care, the two cultures take care of patients and disease.

The exhibition provides an opportunity to better understand this world, which has its roots in ancient Chinese history and also to take a new look, incidentally, on the medical culture heritage that the Scuola Grande di San Marco preserves.
The exhibition will be presented to the public Monday, December 19th at 16 pm, at the Portego delle Colonne of the Scuola Grande di San Marco. Among the speakers will be Professor Tiziana Lippiello, Vice-rector of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and prof. Marco Ceresa, director of the Confucius Institute.

"Traditional Chinese medicine has been an ancient practice for at least 2,500 years, and is being used increasingly in Western medicine - says prof. Ceresa. It works with energy and meridians, characterized by its holistic approach.  The Woo School (Wu), which takes its name from an ancient Kingdom in the Suzhou region, was particularly important in China towards the end of  '800 and the start of the '900, when a member of the medical school became the doctor of the Empress Widow, who ruled China until the collapse of the 'Celestial Empire'. The basic principles are those of traditional Chinese medicine, especially the Yin and Yang and the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) that define the correspondence between the parts of the body and the overall world in which the individual moves. "

Inside the exhibition, organized in Venice and modelled after an earlier exhibition in a hospital in the city of Suzhou, information boards will be visible with many photographs and texts, primarily for educational and informative purposes. Ca’ Foscari University and the Confucius Institute have put together all of the translations, and formed university students who will guide visitors through the course of the exhibition.

Useful info:
Exhibition: WOO MEDICINE IN THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE - History and actuality of Traditional Chinese Medicine
When: December 20th, 2016 – February 28th 2017
Days and hours of opening to the public: Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm
Cost: Free
Guided tours: Reservations are required by calling the Venetian Confucius Institute on +39 041 234 9548 (Tue, Wed, Thu from 10am – 12 noon) or by emailing  confuciovenezia@unive.it.

For more information: www.scuolagrandesanmarco.it