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The article reports on the politics of medicine in the People's Republic of China. It is noted that medical care in this country, most notably in rural areas, had been of degrading quality. Added to this is the fact that there are few trained medical personnel to suffice even the minimal health needs. Relative to this, improvement of the health standard of China's people had been an aim of the People's Republic of China. Cooperative medical service programs were introduced, and the value of traditional Chinese medicine, in combination with Western health techniques, were encouraged and the training of subprofessional health personnel was undertaken.

“Nāgarakretāgama” is the title of a Javanese poem composed by a native bard named Prapañca, in honour of his sovereign Hayam Wuruk (1350–1389), the greatest ruler of Mājapāhit. It has recently been edited with his customary scholarship by Dr. Brandes, and its contents were shortly afterwards analyzed by Dr. Kern. Its date, in so far as can be made out from internal evidence, must be put down to about 1380. At this period the Mājapāhit empire had reached the zenith of its power, and embraced, besides most of the archipelago, several, though little better than nominal, dependencies on the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. Furthermore, friendly and trading relations had been established with a number of States on the Indo-Chinese mainland. In the course of his pæan of praise for his great sovereign, the poet gives a long enumeration of all such countries. This is where the interest of the production chiefly lies, for though it be merely a question of a list of bare toponyms, yet the simple fact of some of them being mentioned at such a date gives rise to issues, as we shall see directly, of high importance for the elucidation of the historical geography, as well as of several obscure points in the early history of the countries concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]