The Conversation: The secret Maoist Chinese operation that conquered malaria — and won a Nobel
Jia-Chen Fu, assistant professor of Chinese language at Emory University

“…[Chinese medical researcher Tu Youyou’s] research has drawn accolades from the international scientific community, while also igniting a debate in the Chinese language media about the celebration of individual inventors over collective group efforts. This … may be part of the legacy of Maoist mass science, which demanded research that served practical needs and engaged the masses. Scientific achievement, while important, was not the be-all, end-all of scientific work. During the Cultural Revolution, it mattered that science proceed along revolutionary lines. It mattered that scientific advances resulted from collective endeavor and drew from popular sources. Does it still?” (10/6).