Join us for a detailed exploration of Chinese medicine's transformation during the 20th century in China. Using original materials - letters, articles, books, announcements and official documents - with commentary from the book's principal author to guide the reader, together we can explore how political and practical pressures influenced Chinese medicine education and clinical perspectives.The narrative begins at the end of the Qing dynasty and the rise of the Republic, when the government and public encountered Western scientific medicine and its many impressive achievements. In the 1930s, a time of relative political freedom, we can see practitioners grapple with the pros and cons of Chinese vs Western medicine in the "Great Debates". As time goes by, however, and the pressures of health care provision under Communist rule become more inte nse, the debates become stifled and ideological and pragmatic pressures determine the way that Chinese and Western medicine are combined and altered in order to meet the country's significant health needs. This book is a valuable resource that will help contemporary practitioners of Chinese medicine to assess the various decisions that shaped Chinese medicine last century, in order to better decide how we can develop the essence of Chinese medicine into the future. Written by practitioners, for practitioners, this book is not simply a historical account but rather a starting place for us to join together and discuss the important issues that will ensure a sound future for our profession.