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Introduction
One night in the spring of 1912, the dean of the Harvard Medical School of China, Dr Martin R. Edwards, as special guest speaker, delivered a public talk regarding the better understanding of health in Shanghai. Using 13 well-prepared slides, Edwards listed the six most important factors for improving health, one of which was the significance of diet. Understanding the 'relation between food and health' was very important, emphasized Edwards, because 'having better foodstuffs with a proper eating habit was the sine qua non for any country that wanted to be strong'.1Edwards' talk was moderated by Wu Tingfang who had retired to Shanghai after serving for several years as the Qing ambassador to the United States. In addition, Yu Fengbin, a Chinese physician trained in Western medicine, was present at the talk, ensuring that medical terms were adequately translated into Chinese. In both the advertisements for and the reports on the talk, Shenbao, the most popular Chinese daily in Shanghai, referred to the theme of his talk as the 'technique of health preserving' (yangsheng), a time-honoured practice of traditional Chinese medicine.2
In the 1910s, Western medical missionaries conducted and published early research which was to form the foundation of modern nutrition science in China. Although their professional research circulated only within the narrow confines of the academic community, important changes in popular dietary interests were occurring at the same time.3As seen by Edwards' talk, the non-specialist public tended to understand this new knowledge within the traditional context of 'health-preserving techniques', the ultimate goal of which was to achieve individual health and longevity through better drinking and eating habits.4Against this backdrop, Wu Tingfang, who was also a keen dietary reformer, attempted to reach the public through Edwards' public talk in order to address social problems related to Chinese dietary habits.
This article examines the development of nutritional understanding and the subsequent dietary reform movement in early twentieth-century China within the context of burgeoning popular concerns over bodily health and an increasing sense of urgency. Among the various sub-disciplines of Western science and medicine introduced to modern China, none was more attractive to a public audience...