In west countries, arthritis is a common disease that causes physical and mental disorders. The joint pain and motion disorder caused by arthritis can pose a heavy burden on both the families and society. However, there is currently no effective method for curing rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. The existing therapeutic methods for arthritis mainly include physical therapy, lifestyle change (exercise and weight control), protective gears, and medications. The acupuncture and moxibustion in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long been adopted for treating the arthritis due to the unique effects. According to clinical symptoms, arthritis falls into the categories of “bi syndrome” and “aggravated bi” in TCM. The earliest description of therapeutic method for arthritis can be traced back to Plain Questions·Discussion on Bi-Syndrome (Suwen·Bi Lun). By summarizing the treatment experience of predecessors and utilizing the modern scientific methods, the modern TCM medical workers constantly bring forth new ideas and have greatly improved the effectiveness of TCM in the treatment of this disease. As TCM is gradually recognized and accepted by the world, its outstanding performance in the treatment of arthritis has attracted worldwide attention. More and more clinicians and researchers around the world are being or have been involved in research on the treatment of arthritis by TCM. The discovery of diverse components from Chinese medicinals and the exploration of effective treatment measures unique to TCM such as acupuncture and moxibustion will help to provide powerful tools against arthritis. TCM is helping countries around the world and the integration and mutual complementarity between TCM and western medicine has become a means of arthritis management gaining international attention in recent years.

Since 2014, Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion, Acupuncture Research, Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica, Chinese Archives of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liaoning Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica, The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, World Chinese Medicine, Journal of Chinese Medicinal Materials and Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin have successively joined the Journal Translation Project (JTP, http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual). As of 2020, a total of 3 042 articles from these journals have been included in JTP and published in both Chinese and English, which has enhanced the international influence of these journals. To further promote the international dissemination of TCM culture and the related journals, and enable more readers to learn about the research progress in TCM treatment of arthritis, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) collaborates with the editorial boards of these journals to constitute a panel of experts and select 53 excellent articles regarding arthritis management with TCM. These articles have been compiled into the book Arthritis (TCM) (English edition) as part of China’s Medicine Progress Series (English edition). The articles included are recommended by the editorial boards of journals in which they were originally published, and the content mainly covers mechanism research, clinical research, and experience discussion, fully demonstrating the unique therapies and excellent efficacy of TCM in arthritis management, with scientific methodological support and objective conclusions. The original articles were published in Chinese and this book is a compilation of English version of the selected articles.

As the editor-in-chief, I believe that this book will provide effective experience and methods from the TCM filed in China for arthritis treatment worldwide, as well as the scientific, practical, and up-to-date literature for those who are engaged in TCM all over the world, aiming to further enhance the international influence of TCM journals and contribute to the dissemination of TCM culture.

Editor-in-chief: WU Zhongchao