中医药的国际传播对中华文化传播和国家软实力提升有重要的意义，而媒体报道对中医药的信息传播和形象塑造起着举足轻重的作用。本研究从中英两国媒体报道入手，调查目前中医药海外传播情况与舆论环境，并比较中外媒体报道差异，从而为国际中文教育的中医药跨文化传播提供资料和工作着力点的参考，也为我国媒体中医药对外报道提升国际传播力提出建议。

研究通过Factiva数据库搜集了2020-2022年《泰晤士报》与《人民日报》与中医药有关的报道，运用内容分析法对报道关注的中医药治疗形式和中医药相关话题、报道立场进行类目建构和编码。研究发现《泰晤士报》在2020-2022年对中医药各种治疗形式覆盖面广泛，主要聚焦中医药、中药、针灸三个关键词，以及“中医药与生活”、“中药与生态环境”、“中医药与新冠肺炎（中国）”话题。在中医药形式的报道立场上，中药几乎受到全盘否定，而针灸受到好评，且所有关于太极拳、气功的报道均持正面立场。《人民日报》报道重点关注中医药、针灸、草药、中药，以及“中医药与新冠肺炎（中国）”和“中医药海外服务”话题，受疫情背景影响显著，但是对中医药文化和历史覆盖很少。绝大多数报道持正面立场，其余中立立场报道仅概括事件，不含情感态度，保留了国内新闻简洁凝练的风格和高语境的叙事方式。

本研究进一步采用文本分析法，借助AntConc软件检索中医药关键词的搭配词，并对其所在上下文进行细读，解释媒体的态度倾向和中医药的媒介形象。结果表明，《泰晤士报》中，中医药作为术语出现时存在负面的形象。在具体的中医药形式上，《泰晤士报》评价中药和中成药治疗新冠缺乏证据；既肯定针刺和艾灸的功效，又反对其进入英国国民医疗系统；抨击中药对珍贵动物药材的需求危害野生动物生存；对太极拳这项平易近人、有利于身心健康的温和运动全面肯定；对气功的报道往往是疗养和静修项目的宣传。综上，中医药在药用和医疗价值上遭受了英国媒体较多的质疑，而在休闲养生领域被认为具有发展潜力。《人民日报》呈现的中医药形象为抗击新冠病毒的医方良药、增进人类健康福祉和中外合作的友好使者、贫困地区的经济增长点。该媒体还特别强调了中西医结合在治疗新冠肺炎上的有效性，引述较多国家机构和地方机构、中医药专家的话语增强中医药的权威性和科学性，这也为文本增添了官方的宣传色彩。

基于此，研究建议中医药国际传播的国际中文教育工作和我国对外报道相互配合，取长补短。国际中文教育侧重中医文化宣传，要提升传播者对中医药进行跨文化传播的素质，能够根据媒体传播的现状精选传播内容，在文化的“共义域”基础上介绍中医文化，培养学生的文化移情能力。海外孔子学院成人课汉语教材的中医药相关内容有待优化；孔子课堂可以为青少年汉语学习者开展“中医药文化强化学习项目”。我国外宣媒体侧重回应国际舆论，打破文化定势形成的刻板印象，做好宣传内容的本土化和强化人类健康的共同追求这一议程设置；在表达方式上考虑低语境受众的阅读习惯，多用故事叙事，采用更加生动和平易近人的表达，展开事件的细节，对术语进行解释。

The international dissemination of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is of great significance to that of Chinese culture and the enhancement of national soft power, while media coverage plays a pivotal role in the information dissemination and image building of TCM. Starting from Chinese and British media reports, this study investigated the current overseas communication situation and public opinion environment of TCM, and compared the differences between Chinese and British media reports, so as to provide materials and reference for the cross-cultural communication of TCM in International Chinese Education, and also put forward suggestions for Chinese media to improve TCM’s international communication.

Through Factiva database, this study collected The Times and People's Daily reports related to TCM from 2020 to 2022. Content analysis method was used to construct category and code TCM treatments, TCM related topics and reporting stance. The study found that the Times reported TCM with extensive coverage, focusing on three key words: TCM, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, as well as the topics of "TCM and life", "TCM and the ecological environment", and "TCM and COVID-19 (China)". Specifically, Chinese medicine was almost fully denied, while acupuncture was praised, and all reports on Tai Chi and Qigong have taken a positive stance. People's Daily's coverage focused on TCM, acupuncture, herbal medicine and Chinese medicine, as well as the topics of "TCM and COVID-19 (China)" and "TCM overseas services" ", which were significantly influenced by the context of the pandemic, but with little coverage of the culture and history of TCM. The majority of the reports took a positive stance, while the remaining neutral reports merely summarised events without attitudes, retaining the concise and condensed style and high-context narrative of domestic journalism.

The study further employed text analysis to retrieve collocations of TCM key words using AntConc software and to scrutinise the contexts that explain the media's attitudinal tendencies and the media impression of TCM. The results indicated that TCM or Traditional Chinese medicine as terms used in The Times have negative images. In terms of specific forms of TCM, The Times persisted the lack of evidence for treating Covid-19 by Chinese medicines; affirmed the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion while opposing their entry into NHS; criticised the demand for precious animal ingredients in TCM as endangering the survival of wildlife; gave an overall affirmation of tai chi, an approachable, gentle exercise for physical and mental health; and coverage of qigong tended to be healing and retreat programs advertisement. To sum up, TCM has been questioned by the British media in terms of its medicinal and medical value, while it has development potential in the field of leisure and health. The People's Daily presented the impression of TCM as a sound remedy against the Covid-19, a goodwill ambassador for human health and well-being and Sino-foreign cooperation, and an economic growth point for backward regions. The media also highlighted the effectiveness of combining Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of Covid-19, quoting many national and local institutions and TCM experts to enhance the authority and scientificity of TCM, which also added official publicity style to the text.

Based on this, the study suggests that International Chinese Education and foreign reporting of TCM international communication should cooperate and learn from each other. International Chinese Education focuses on the cultural communication of TCM. It is necessary to improve the quality of the communicators in the cross-cultural communication of TCM. They can select the communication content according to the current situation of media communication, introduce the culture of TCM on the basis of the "common field", and cultivate the cultural empathy capacity of students. The Chinese textbooks for adult courses at overseas Confucius Institutes need to be updated for the content related to TCM. Confucius classrooms can carry out "Intensive learning programmes of TCM culture" for teenager Chinese learners. China's foreign media should focus on responding to international public opinion, breaking the stereotypes, localising the content and reinforcing the common pursuit of human health as an agenda-setter; considering the reading habits of audiences in lower-contexts in terms of expression, adopting more storytelling, more vivid and approachable expressions, developing detailed descriptions of events and explaining terms.