Extensive Research of a Properly Scientific Nature

Extensive research of a properly scientific nature has been carried out in China during the past 40 years.

When the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949, many of the revolutionary leaders were determined to rid their country of all religion and superstition, and to many of them this included traditional Chinese medicine.

Others, although accepting the usefulness of Western medicine, felt that traditional methods should also be preserved. The story is told that Chairman Mao became very ill while on the Long March, but his life was saved by folk medicine.

He therefore supported its continuation, but also tried to ensure that these traditional forms of medicine would also prove valuable to a modern society by instituting a series of experiments and clinical tests, which were undertaken in the 1950s.

In 1958, after many thousands of tests, the members of the Central Committee were convinced that traditional medicine was effective, and since that time Western and traditional Chinese medicine have been given equal status in the People's Republic of China.