Implement the Correct Policy in Dealing with Doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine
(October 20, 1954)

Source: RMR# (Oct. 20, 1954), |. Other Chinese Text: Dongfanghoy
1, 1967), excerpts (for publishing data see text Winter 1954, s¢ ure *

This is an RMRB editorial. See also text July 30, 1954.

The medical lore of our country has a history of several thousand fr
nich in content and contains valuable clinical experience, and it hes pe
immense role in the people's struggle against disease through the ag

To inherit and to develop this cultural heritage, to study it earn
research its theories and its practical experience, in order lo organize
marize it with scientific methods, and thus gradually to raise its scholar
clinical standards so as to make it become of eVen more effective
the people — this is an immensely glorious and arduous task facing the Mm
profession in our country. If this work is done well, it will not only
facilitate the development and enhancement of our people's health cw
medical enterprise, but will also further enrich the contents of the medi¢
ence of the world.

The Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Government hay
held our homeland’s cultural legacy in esteem; the policy adopted by th
and the People’s Government with regard to doctors of traditional .
medicine has always been clear. The Party has consistently appealed to
tors of both Chinese and Western medicine to unite and cooperate, to help
encourage each other for the general purpose of raising the standards ¢ om )
em medical science and clinical capabilities and to even better serve the!
ests of the people and make a joint effort to study and research the med
heritage of the homeland so as to develop it unceasingly and to make ae
even greater role. Over the last several years, however, the leaders! se
departments of the administration of health care has consistently A
carry out this policy adopted by the Party and the People’s Go
ously and has not concretely implemented the accurate principle of U
doctors of Chinese and Western medicine.’ Obviously, in the mobili
and organization of doctors of traditional Chinese medicine to take pat in
hygiene and vaccination programs and in organizing clinics of C de
tors or joint clinics of doctors of Chinese and Western medicine, it has ®

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OCTOBER - DECEMHER 1994 / 45/

work and has had some achievements. Nevertheless, such work has not
mentally Tesolved the problem of giving play to traditional Chinese medfw gad certainly has not represented the adoption of an effective method in
poniliZiN and organizing doctors of both Chinese and Western medicine 10
sity research and develop the homeland’s medical heritage and to enrich
re vjeients of modem medical science. Furthermore, the leadership in the

ments of health care administration has often even violated the Party’s
and the People’s Government's policy and adopted an attitude of disdain, disefiminalion, and exclusion toward doctors of traditional Chinese medicine,
ysing all sorts of restrictive methods in dealing with them. This has been an
wick On the positive attitude of the doctors of Chinese medicine in their
qork, has abetted the cadres in health care work and doctors of Westem medicine in their erroneous mentality of despising Chinese medicine and Chinese

scology itself, and has adversely affected the development and
improvement of the profession of traditional Chinese medicine severely.
Other related work departinents and public opinion in society have also shown
jasuificient regard or concem for Chinese medicine. These mistakes must be
fectified.

The reason that the leadership cadres in health care administration are
unable to implement the Party and People’s Government's policy toward Chinese doctors is that they have been afflicted by the remnant poison of bour-

is ideology and consequently look down upon the medical legacy of the
homeland, They do not realize the importance of inheriting and developing
the homeland's cultural heritage to the construction of a new culture; they do
not realize the importance of enhancing the medical legacy of the homeland to
the raising of the standards of modern medical science and clinical ability and
to the development of the people's cause of health care and medical treatment,
Consequently they are also unaware of the importance of uniting with doctors
Of traditional Chinese medicine, enhancing it, and thus allowing it to take its
full effect. They neglect the practical needs of the broad masses of the people
for Chinese medicine and Chinese pharmacology; they ignore the traditional
Chinese doctor's rich experience and obvious clinical effectiveness; they do
Ol study or investigate in earnest; they do not carefully analyze and sum up
the situation, but they jump ahead and make the generalization that Chinese
Medicine is “backward” and “unscientific” and negate it wholesale, Such an
Attitude of not recognizing facts and not emphasizing practical experience is
8M altitude of extremely “unscientific” arbitrariness, This erroneous altitude
Adopted by the leadership cadres in health care administration toward Chinese
Medicine and Chinese pharmacology concretely manifests gravely sectarian
Mentalities and sentiments. Such mentalities and sentiments of looking down
“Pon Chinese medicine and Chinese pharmacology have not, over a long
eyod of time, been fundamentally turned around, This has caused the situion in which there has been no apparent change in the serious and persistent

kwardness in the work in traditional Chinese medicine.
Therefore, if we are to make a serious effort to improve the work in


488 | MAO ZEDONG

Chinese medicine, we must first resolutely correct the serious mista.
exists within the leadership of the departments of heulth care adiningee,
and other related areas in that they look down upon the homelund"s psy
heritage and neglect the role played by Chinese medicine and Chinese »
macology in our people's health care, and we must actively call ypp
organize doctors of Western medicine to study and research Chinese gy
science. This is the immediate key to the resolution of our problem
There can be no doubt that it is necessary to appeal to and organize dy
of Western medicine to study and research Chinese medical science
because the enormous and arduous task of developing the homeland’
of medical science can be accomplished gnidually only through
long-range cooperation between doctors of Chinese and Western medip
The irrefutable clinical effectiveness of Chinese doctors and ©
medicine has proved that Chinese medical knowledge has a rational and
ful content. Its major weakness is that it has lacked a systematic seieniil
theory and has not yet taken hold of a reliable methodology of cheny
imentation and scientific inspection. This has greatly limited the se
development and enhancement. Therefore, the basic problem of develo
the homeland's medical heritage is a problem of gradually integrating i 1
modem scientific theory through serious study, research, and practiog,
means that we must, based on the theories of modem science, orgar
principles of traditional Chinese medical science and summarize its
experience by scientific methods and absorb from it the essentials and elit
nate the dross, so as to gradually channel it into modern medical science
turn it into an important component of modem medical science,
should gradually establish a modern school of medicine of this 1 ture.
should reflect the special characteristics of China's geography and elinyat
reflect the special characteristics of the application of pharmaceutical millet
produced specially in China, and reflect the particular features of the fe
labor of the various peoples of China. This is the long-range and grand 204
our development of the medical legacy of the homeland. In order to-attaind
goal, doctors of traditional Chinese medicine will naturally have to mal ke ;
arduous and sustained cffort over a long period of time, but doctor
Western medicine, who are endowed with relatively rich scientific kit
sige, also have their especially glorious assignment in this as well, In the eu
rent situation, in which the medical heritage of the hameland is not regan
with esteem or comprehended in general by doctors of Western medicin®.|
emphasis on the importance of having doctors of Western medicine stidy ame
research Chinese medical science has a particularly great pie -
significance. It is only through their own study and research of the m
heritage of the homeland that doctors of Western medicine can promote #
role played by modern medical scientific knowledge in organizing #
enhancing that heritage.
To identify the promotion of the medical heritage of the homeland ie
development of modern medical science makes perfect senie To const!

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OCTOBER — DECEMBER 1954 | 489

cover. by the combined effort of Chinese and Western medicine, scientific
de®” srom this invaluable cultural legacy will surely bring about daily enrich-
" gt of the treasury of modem medical science. In the last few yeurs, some
goctors of Western medicine have achieved some success in their study and
yeh of Chinese medicine. This ts illustrated, for example, by the accom-
) jshments iM the study of Chinese: acupuncture treatment on the basis of the
gcientific theories of neuropathology. In general, doctors of Western medicine
gre willing to apply methods of treatment and prevention that havea scientific
foundation both in theory and in practice; this ix correct as far as it goes. How~
_gyer, they have cast aside the several thousand years of practical experience of
Chinese medicine and do not excavate new knowledge, new medicines, or
new methods from the ex) jence of Chinese medical science, and this is very
weome. In this way, certain limits have been placed on the development of
modem medical science itself, For example. if we were to delve into the
method of aoupuncture treatment, possibly we could write a new page in the
history Of modern medical principles; we might therefore be obliged to revise
) existing cheory about the mechanical mobility and neuro-adaptation of healthy
and sick people alike. As long as we launch the work of studying Chinese
| medicine and Chinese pharmacology in a well-planned, well-organized fashion und with good leadership, we are bound to make # major contribution to
| modem medical science and to the cause of the people’s health care. To the
individual doctor of Western medicine, to study and research Chinese medi-
| cine by scientific methods not only does not pose any danger to the medical
knowledge or climcal technique that he or she possessed to begin with, but
indeed it can bring about enrichment and enhancement of this knowledge and
technique.
in emphasizing the importance of having doctors of Wester medicine
| Mudy and research Chinese medical science, we haye not removed in the
-Mightest from the broad ranks of doctors of Chinese medicine the great task of
Promoting the medical heritage of the homeland. In the past, some doctors of
Chinese medicine have carried out organization and research in the art and sctence of Chinese medicine by applying relatively modem viewpoints and
Wethods, and their accomplishments have been considerable. The majority of
Wovtors of traditional Chinese medicine, however, neglect research work.
his situation should be reversed now. In order (o strengthen their own
fesearch work in cooperation with doctors of Western medicine, doctors of
inese medicine will not only have to constantly dig into the principles of
Chinese medicine and have a good grasp of their clinical experience, but they
MUSt also fearn the necessary fundamental scientific knowledge so as to play a
Beater role in organizing und summarizing the principles and experience of
Chinese medicine.

In order to unite doctors of Chinese and Western medicine in a combined
Hon to promote effectively the medical heritage of the timeland, the leaderhip organs jn health care ought to hase themselves on the spirit of Premier

i Enlai’s “Report on the Work of the Government” and penetratingly


490 | MAQ ZEDONG

examine the conditions of the past within their own departments regapdin,
issue of carrying out the policy adopted by the Party and the People’s Gog
ment toward Chinese medicine and camestly correct the CrrOncOUS a t
toward Chinese medicine and Chinese pharmacology. At the same fi
must meticulously carry out ideological work und policy education |
doctors of Western medicine, remove their ideological obstacles, and gy
ideological basis of their own awareness and voluntarism, stir up their ep
siasm for studying and researching the medical legacy of the homeland
thermore, they must adopt, in a well-planned and methodical way, a ser,
organizational nveasures and utilize necessary systems and structures to eye
an improvement in the work of Chinese medicine. “——

Naturally, to do this work well is very complicated. The methods ¢
ment are different for doctors of Chinese and Western medicine, and m
them support and complement each other, to direct them toward one g
result, when they begin with different paths, we must have a powerfl i
gical and organizational leadership, one that will guarantee that they w
stantly maintain a high level of initiative and activism and will strug le fe
common goal. The principle of the integration of theory and practice mu
carried out; in all things we must proceed on the premise of practice and 6
duct research work for the purpose of resolving practical problems. The §
cial characteristics of doctors of both Chinese and Westem medicine, andp
ticularly those of doctors of Chinese medicine. must be given attention.
preliminary experience of certain clinical units in carrying out consultatie
between doctors of Chinese and Western medicine must be summed
new experiences must be carefully planned and assigned clear prion
serve as a basis for directing work in general. We must make real sical
solid and reasonable arrangements for the cooperation between doctor
Chinese medicine and doctors of Wester medicine on the basis of thei
tical circumstances in all areas in each locality, so that they will not
worry, and, cooperating in a friendly and intimate atmosphere, each ©
develop his or her own special skill. Only this type of cooperatic
succeed in constantly reinforcing the unity of doctors of Chinese and W
medicine, and only then can they effectively carry out the enorme
promoting the medical heritage of the homeland.

The work of Chinese medicine covers a very broad area. Not only da :
call for the positive and active effort of the departments of health care aden
istration; it also requires the close coordination of all other rem
departments and the resolute support of public opinion in society. fn p
lar, it requires the unified leadership of the Party; this is the greatest 2
of the successful implementation of this task. Party committees in sei
ity must shoulder their responsibilities seriously, constantly instruct and uf
all related areas to implement the Party's policy toward Chinese medic ne,
and actively make improvements in this major area of work that concerns *
life and death as well as the gencral health of the people.

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Notes

i sce text July 30. 1954, note |.

i Mao is referring to the “Report of the Work of the Government” delivered by Zhou Enlai,
peer Se Sen Sete es Leeea oo Doe Oe 1954, at the First Session
Pr be Furst National People’s Congress of the PRC, See RMSC (1955). pp. 129-141.