1970
“Barefoot doctors” (赤脚医生) were farmers, folk healers, rural healthcare providers, and recent middle or secondary school graduates who received basic medical training. The term “barefoot doctor” is derived from southern farmers who would often work barefoot in rice paddies and served as medical practitioners for their villages. These “barefoot doctors” worked in rural villages in China and brought health care to areas where urban-trained doctors would not settle. They promoted basic hygiene practices, provide preventative healthcare, offer family planning services, and treat common illnesses. In rural areas, “barefoot doctors” merged Western medicine with traditional Chinese medicine practices.
Prior to the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the Rural Reconstruction Movement in the 1930s aimed at revitalizing Chinese villages and providing basic health care was part of the initiative. The concept of “barefoot doctors” was formalized by Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution. After Chairman Mao’s June 26 Directive, China’s health policy began to emphasize the importance of “barefoot doctors,” and by 1968 they were fully integrated into Chinese national health policy.
