Health and Disease in Modern Chinese History

Modern Chinese history has been shaped profoundly by the interplay of disease, public health reform and medical innovation. In the late Qing dynasty, recurrent epidemics of plague, cholera and smallpox spurred the first efforts at quarantine and vaccination under a weakening imperial state. The Republican era witnessed the emergence of medical schools modelled on Western biomedicine alongside efforts to modernise traditional Chinese medicine. Following 1949, the People’s Republic launched mass campaigns such as the Patriotic Hygiene Movement, the eradication of schistosomiasis and nationwide immunisation drives. During the Cultural Revolution, the barefoot doctor system extended basic primary healthcare into rural areas, blending rudimentary biomedical techniques with grassroots preventive work. In the reform era post-1978, market liberalisation transformed hospital governance and pharmaceutical production, while accelerating research into antimalarial compounds and integrative medicine. More recently, national strategies to combat SARS in 2003 and COVID-19 in 2020–22 have combined large-scale epidemiological surveillance, digital health platforms and traditional remedies, illustrating China’s capacity to mobilise resources and shape global health norms. These developments have had international impact through health diplomacy, the export of medical personnel and the global recognition of herbal therapeutics, emphasising the country’s evolving role in shaping both domestic wellbeing and the wider contours of 21st-century global health.

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Technical terms

Traditional Chinese Medicine: A system of health and healing based on herbal remedies, acupuncture, massage and exercise rooted in historical Chinese concepts of balance and Qi circulation.

Biomedicine: A model of medicine that applies principles of biology, chemistry and physiology to diagnose and treat disease, often using pharmaceuticals and surgical interventions.

Barefoot doctor: A community-based health worker in rural China trained in basic preventive care, hygiene education and simple treatments, active principally during the 1960s–70s.

Health diplomacy: The strategic use of medical aid, disease control programmes and healthcare partnerships to advance a country’s international relations and soft-power objectives.

References

1. Innovative Development Measures of the Chinese Medicine Industry in Industrial Big Data with the Aid of AI in the Context of an Imperfectly Competitive Market Economy. Applied Artificial Intelligence (2023).
2. Chinese Anti-epidemic Slogan: The Relationship with CP and PP and the Influence from Culture. Media and Communication Research (2023).
3. About Face: How the People’s Republic of China Harnessed Health to Leverage Soft Power on the World Stage. Frontiers in Human Dynamics (2022).