🌿 Folk Prescriptions

The conflict between traditional Chinese and Western medicine escalated into intense confrontation mainly during the Republican era. In the first year of the Republic (1912), educational reforms excluded traditional Chinese medicine from the formal education system, triggering the first protest campaign by the TCM community. After the Nationalist Government moved its capital to Nanjing, opponents of TCM gained official support, intensifying efforts to abolish TCM. At the 1928 National Education Conference, Wang Qizhang first proposed abolishing TCM, but the motion failed. The following year, at the Central Health Committee meeting, Yu Yunxiu’s proposal to abolish TCM passed, becoming the catalyst for large-scale resistance movements. Subsequent efforts to establish the Central Chinese Medical Association and promulgate the "Chinese Medical Regulations" sparked fierce battles between the two sides, lasting until the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan.
One, Petition for Legalization of TCM Education during the Beiyang Government Era
In July 1918, the Beiyang Government held an educational conference, adopting a Japanese-style curriculum framework—the "Ziwei Gui Chou Educational System." In November 1912, the Beiyang Government’s Ministry of Education issued the "Regulations for Medical Specialized Schools." In January 1913, the Ministry announced the "University Regulations," covering medicine and pharmacy, but completely omitting any mention of traditional Chinese medicine—this became known as the "omission of TCM" incident in the early Republic.
The first petition campaign arose after the Ministry’s regulations were issued, prompting alarm among TCM practitioners. Visionary figures, led by Yu Botao (De Xun) of the Shanghai Zhenzhou Pharmaceutical Association, protested. The association united with other regional TCM organizations to form the "Pharmaceutical Salvation Petition Group." By October 1913, 19 provinces and cities had responded, sending representatives to Beijing for petitions.
Two, TCM Resistance Movement during the Nationalist Government Era
From February 23–26, 1929, the Nanjing Government’s Health Department convened the First Central Health Committee Meeting, presided over by Vice Minister Liu Ruiheng. Four proposals were discussed:
1. Proposal No. 14 (Zhong): "Abolish Old Medicine to Remove Obstacles to Medical and Sanitary Progress."
2. Proposal No. 22 (Sheng): "Unify the Registration Method for Medical Practitioners."
3. Proposal No. 36 (Sheng): "Set Time Limits for Registering Traditional Chinese Doctors."
4. Proposal No. 42 (Sheng): "Propose Restrictions on Chinese Doctors and Medicinal Materials."
Yu Yunxiu’s proposal, "Abolish Old Medicine to Remove Obstacles to Medical and Sanitary Progress," essentially incorporated the content of the other three. In his proposal, he outlined six specific measures for eliminating TCM entirely. The committee decided to merge the four proposals into "Principles for Registering Old Medicine," entrusting implementation to the Health Department:
甲. Old medicine registration must end by the end of 1930 (Republic Year 19).
乙. Ban all old medicine schools.
丙. Other measures, such as restricting non-scientific publications and registering old medicine practitioners, will be carried out by the Health Department as circumstances allow.
This became the famous "Abolish TCM Case" in modern TCM history.
The national TCM community united in petitioning. On February 26, 1929, Shanghai’s Xinwen Bao first reported the news. The revelation shocked the nation. The Shanghai TCM Association immediately convened a joint meeting of pharmaceutical groups, inviting representatives from over 40 organizations, including the Zhenzhou Pharmaceutical Association, the Chinese Pharmaceutical Federation, the Shanghai Chinese Medical College, and the Medical Field Spring and Autumn Society, to discuss strategies (Petition Report of National Medical and Pharmaceutical Organizations Chronicle of Medical Field, 1929, 34:48. National Pharmaceutical Organizations Petition Report, Medical Field Spring and Autumn, 1929, (34):48). They decided to form the Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group Union to coordinate unified action, and planned to convene a national pharmaceutical congress, setting the date for March 17. On August 17, 1929, the National Pharmaceutical Congress opened at the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.
To show support for the congress, TCM and herbal medicine sectors in Shanghai suspended operations for half a day. Pharmacies posted prominent slogans such as “Supporting TCM means preserving our national heritage,” “Restricting TCM means killing the people,” and “Opposing the Health Department’s resolution to restrict TCM.” Giant couplets hung in the venue: “Promote TCM to Prevent Cultural Invasion” and “Promote Herbal Medicine to Prevent Economic Invasion.” Over 262 representatives attended from 15 provinces—Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi—and 132 organizations. The congress elected Lu Zhong’an, Sui Hanying, Cai Jiping, and Zhang Meian as chairpersons. The petition issue was entrusted to the Executive Committee. A delegation of Xie Liheng, Sui Hanying, Jiang Wenfang, Chen Cunren, and Zhang Meian was formed to petition the Third National Congress of the Kuomintang, the National Government, the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Health Department, and the Ministry of Education, demanding the repeal of the TCM abolition proposal. Due to the persistent efforts of the national TCM community, the Nanjing government yielded under strong public pressure and temporarily shelved the TCM abolition plan.
However, this did not fundamentally change the Nanjing government’s discriminatory and exclusionary policies toward TCM. On December 1, 1929, the First Extraordinary National Congress of the National Pharmaceutical Federation met in Shanghai as scheduled. Delegates from 17 provinces and regions, including Hong Kong and the Philippines, totaling 457 representatives, gathered. The five-day session was marked by intense emotion, with over a hundred proposals submitted. After discussion, the congress resolved to form a petition delegation (Records of First Provisional National Congress and Petition. In: Compilation of Business Records of National. 1931. 45～56. Summary of Activities of the National Pharmaceutical Federation, First Extraordinary Congress and Petition Situation, printed by the federation, 1931: 45～56).
On December 7, the petition delegation departed for Beijing to appeal for the cancellation of policies hindering TCM development. The National Pharmaceutical Federation, led by the 1929 initiative, achieved a personal endorsement from Chiang Kai-shek, greatly uplifting the spirits of TCM practitioners nationwide.
Three, Establishment of the Central Chinese Medical Association
Despite ongoing threats, the TCM community remained in peril. Leaders such as Qiu Jisheng, Jiang Wenfang, and Cai Jiping of the National Pharmaceutical Federation, deeply concerned about the situation, realized the root cause lay in the government’s lack of understanding of Chinese medicine. They decided to petition the government to establish a Chinese Medical Association, modeled after the National Martial Arts Association. After extensive efforts, the Central Chinese Medical Association was finally established on March 17, 1931. The Council convened a general assembly, electing Chen Lifu as chairman, Jiao Yitang as director, and Chen Yu and Shi Jinmo as vice directors. Later, Chen Lifu repeatedly requested resignation due to heavy administrative duties. On July 21, the Standing Council approved his resignation, appointing Peng Yangguang to act as chairman. From its inception, the Association recruited academic editors such as Shi Jinmo to draft plans for organizing Chinese medical schools and standardizing medical theories.
Four, Historical Significance of the TCM Resistance Movement
The TCM resistance movement critically challenged the blind Westernization trend in modern Chinese medicine. In this sense, it played a vital role in promoting traditional Chinese culture. It is essential to recognize that modern China’s adoption of Western culture was forced, tied closely to severe national crises, with imperial powers controlling China’s lifelines. The rise of nihilistic cultural attitudes was a reaction to this historical context. Some even advocated “eradicating” Chinese culture and abolishing Chinese script, exemplifying this reaction. TCM is a crucial part of traditional Chinese culture. Thus, the TCM community’s struggle to preserve TCM and resist abolition inherently opposed cultural nihilism and helped correct the erroneous tendency to reject traditional Chinese culture entirely. Simultaneously, it effectively resisted imperialist cultural and medical invasions.
The TCM resistance movement transcended the realm of medical academia from its outset. In modern China, imperialist powers lent money to the government and established banks in China, monopolizing finance and fiscal control. Thus, they not only dominated commodity competition but also choked China’s economy. Both the Beiyang and Nanjing governments essentially served as proxies for imperialist nations. Their laws and policies were dictated by foreign interests. Promoting TCM threatened the monopoly of Western pharmaceutical products in China, so imperialist nations aggressively expanded their influence through medical schools and hospitals, implementing economic and cultural invasions. There were tens of thousands of TCM practitioners across China, with annual sales of herbal and prepared medicines reaching hundreds of millions of yuan, playing a significant role in the economy. Abolishing TCM would leave millions of practitioners—including physicians, pharmacists, workers, and farmers—without livelihoods and deprive the government of substantial tax revenue. Moreover, due to insufficient domestic Western drugs, China would rely heavily on imports, worsening trade deficits and burdening the economy. Visionary TCM practitioners recognized this as early as 1929, advocating “promoting herbal medicine to prevent economic invasion.” Thus, the modern TCM resistance movement carried profound significance in resisting imperialist economic and cultural aggression.
In summary, whether viewed from preserving traditional Chinese cultural heritage and opposing cultural nihilism, or from resisting imperialist economic and cultural invasions, the modern TCM resistance movement held immense importance. It is evident that TCM’s survival and development in modern China resulted from decades-long struggle.