In the movie Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, one of the heroes contracts malaria at his re-education camp, and they treat him by hitting him repeatedly with sticks of a special wood. I was intrigued by this, as I’d never heard of such a treatment and it seemed to cure him quickly. Now I see that this cure was developed by the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution and is now becoming internationally accepted as the disease becomes increasingly immune to traditional treatments. It may well revolutionize our approach to dealing with malaria.
August 18, 2004
The Discussion: 7 Comments
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1
By David
Is there much malaria in China? I thought that even the southernmost bits weren’t tropical enough for that …
August 19, 2004 @ 2:49 am | Comment
2
By haikou homie
No malaria on Hainan Island that I’ve heard of; been here over two years.
August 19, 2004 @ 3:15 am | Comment
3
By haikou homie
Just wanted to mention that this is awesome and great news. I lived in Zambia, Africa for awhile and contracted malaria. It’s the most painful physical experience of my life. I truly hope this works. In one day in the small township where I was living, they had over 300 funerals due to malaria (so I was told).
August 19, 2004 @ 3:25 am | Comment
4
By richard
I don’t think there’s much malaria in China anymore; the big news is how this will be used in Africa.
August 19, 2004 @ 12:36 pm | Comment
5
By Ellen Sander
I just read the book–quite beautiful. Where did you find the movie and can you give me a little info on it? I’d love to see it.
August 21, 2004 @ 10:16 pm | Comment
6
By richard
The movie is sweet, but in no way matches the book’s charm and magic. I never saw it for sale in China, but it’s certainly available in HK or Singapore as a VCD or DVD. It’s well worth watching, but again, reading the book is the real treat.
August 21, 2004 @ 10:21 pm | Comment
7
By Billybobjones
It can be found in China, I did… There’s not much you can’t find in ways of copies today!
May 8, 2006 @ 7:14 pm | Comment