Couching for cataract: advanced medical achievements of China in 1976?

Cataracts have been a common disease in China for centuries. As early as the Tang dynasty, physicians of Chinese medicine had developed 'jin pi shu', a method of couching, to cure the disease. In 1976, a new method, invented by Tang Youzhi, was acknowledged as one of the most advanced medical achievements in communist China. This paper explores the significance of Tang's method for Mao Zedong's China. Tang's method achieved two goals set by Chairman Mao for medical and health policies: to serve rural China and to integrate Chinese and Western medicine.