Red Army Health Services in Jiangxi and on the Long March, 1927–1936

CHAPTER THREE RED ARMY HEALTH SERVICES IN JIANGXI AND ON THE LONG MARCH, 1927–1936 The way to consolidate these bases is, first, to construct adequate defenses, second, to store sufficient grain and, third, to set up comparatively good Red Army hospitals. The Party in the border area must strive to perform these three tasks effectively. —Mao Zedong, October 19281 This chapter examines the Red Army healthcare practices that took shape in Jiangxi in the largest of the early Chinese Communist base areas, and during the Long March. Although the Jiangxi base area was tiny compared with the areas for which the Nationalist government’s National Health Administration was responsible, its problems were comparable to those of the much larger NHA areas. They included epidemic diseases, malnutri- tion, lack of hygiene and sanitation, reliance on gods for relief from dis- ease, lack of biomedically trained individuals, and policies often adverse to the welfare of soldiers and ordinary people. There were some stark differences however. Red Army command- ers and healthcare leaders were forced by their small numbers and precarious circumstances to learn the importance of preserving lives. Five campaigns with Nationalist armies put a premium on treating and returning soldiers to the front, which worked until the fifth Nationalist encirclement campaign overwhelmed the Communists. The Red Army mobilized Chinese medicine physicians and pharmacists and enlisted individuals trained in Christian medical schools and mission hospitals, and others who had received medical training in Moscow, to develop highly mobile medical and preventive health delivery systems. It also managed to organize workshops to supply medical and herbal products, and created training programs for physicians and health care aides. Under the guidance of Dr. He Cheng (贺诚) Jiangxi base area leaders even spon- sored an ambitious public health drive in 1933–1934. Unfortunately many 1 The original text is: 巩固此根据地的方法: 第一，修筑完备的工事; 第二，储备充足的粮食; 第三，建设较好的红军医院. 把这三件事切实做好，是边界党应该努力的. From “Why is it that Red Political Power can Exist in China,” Collected Works, volume 1, (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1965), 70. 74 chapter three Map 3.1: Jiangxi Province, Southeast China The mountainous and malaria-ridden province of Jiangxi was the main arena in which the early Chinese Communist revolutionaries learned how to survive and attract support. They trained military medical aides to help minimize casualties while improving civilian hygiene to maximize healthcare. Their main base area was in southeast Jiangxi Province around Ruijin. Chiang Kaishek’s huge Fifth Encirclement Campaign put an end to the Jiangxi Soviet causing the start of the Long March in October 1934. (Source: J.R. and A.S. Watt.) of these achievements were lost when the Red Army was forced to escape Jiangxi and undertake the 12 to 24 month Long March starting in Octo- ber 1934. Thus this chapter will examine the innovations in healthcare undertaken by Red Army leaders in Jiangxi and the problems that they encountered. Creating Healthcare under the Stress of Civil War, 1927–1930 The civil war between China’s Nationalist and Communist forces began with the white terror launched by Chiang Kaishek (蒋介石) in Shanghai .

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