With thanks to the National Library of Medicine, USA.
All these posters were printed in China during the third quarter of the twentieth century.
Malaria—Health Poster for the Autumn
Produced by the Health Bureau of People’s Government of Ping Yuan Province, n.d., ca. 1950.
Symptoms of malaria and prevention of the disease. Images emphasize the methods of eliminating the breeding grounds of mosquitoes, keeping mosquitoes away, and killing mosquitoes.
Firmly Fight the Infectious Diseases That Harm the People in Southern Sichuan
Produced by the Health Bureau of the People’s Administration of Southern Sichuan. Printed by the United Printing Society of Luzhou, n.d., ca. 1950.
Vaccination against typhoid fever, cholera, and smallpox; elimination of lice to prevent relapsing fever; and improvement of sanitary conditions to eliminate mosquitoes and malaria.
Everyone Acts to Eradicate Mosquitoes
Produced by the Patriotic Health Movement Committee of Shandong Province and Shandong Red Cross, n.d., ca. 1955.
Mosquitoes spread diseases such as meningitis, malaria, and filariasis. They are vicious enemies that harm people’s health.
To Eradicate Malaria within Certain Time Period
Painted by Mo Gong 默公. Produced by Tianjin Health Propaganda and Education Institute. Printed by Tianjin People’s Printing Factory, July 1956 (250,000 copies).
If we eradicate mosquitoes, we eradicate malaria. Spray DDT and 666 insecticide, keep houses and livestock shed clean, fill in ditches, screen doors and windows, and use bednets. Seek early and thorough treatment when you are sick. Top of the poster is scientific explanation of how mosquitoes grow and spread malaria.
Prevent and Treat Malaria
Produced by the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Jiangxi Province, n.d., ca. 1960.
The image is accompanied by a health message written in the traditional style of three-character text (三字经, san zi jing). The rhymed text makes the health message easy to remember. The first section of the text reads: malaria harms people, it comes from Plasmodium, spread by mosquitoes; after their bites, you get the disease, you feel cold, and then fever, headache and sweat, in July-August, easy to get the disease, once infected, four limbs weak, face yellow and spleen swollen, busy farming time, labor is lost.
Prevent and Treat Malaria to Protect Labor
Produced by Chengdu City Red Cross and Chengdu Heath Propaganda and Education Institute. Printed by Sichuan People’s Printing Factory, 1963.
The poster explains regional names of malaria and how mosquitoes spread malaria, its symptoms and harm to health and labor. Images emphasize methods of prevention: barefoot doctors bring medicine to the fields; people use bed-nets, burn 666 incense and herbs to drive away mosquitoes; they spray insecticide, fill in ditches, and raise fish to eat the larvae.
Actively Prevent and Treat Malaria
Text by Wang Liancheng 赵树綮. Painted by Zhao Shuqi 赵树綮 and Mo Gong 默公. Published by Science Popularization Press. Printed by People’s Education Printing Factory, May 1963 (133,800 copies).
Emphasis on prevention and timely treatment. The images have the aesthetic features of Chinese New Year Pictures (年画, nian hua) and paper-cutting (剪纸, jian zhi), two popular media of Chinese folk art.
How to Prevent and Treat Malaria
Painted by Zhou Shifan 周世范. Produced by the Health Education Institute of
Liaoning Province, December 1964 (30,000 copies).
Modern and traditional methods of prevention of malaria are presented. Timely treatment includes an explanation of malaria and a chart of instruction for taking medicine. The poster’s pinyin title uses the local dialect “yao ji” instead of standard Chinese “nue ji” for malaria.
Prevent Malaria and Take Care of People’s Health
Painted by Wu Hao 吴昊. Produced by Kaifeng City Red Cross, Kaifeng City Health and Epidemic Prevention Station, and Kaifeng City Health Education Institute, 1964.
Preventive methods emphasize the elimination of mosquitoes: spray insecticide, use bednets, empty jars and pull out weeds to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.
Actively Prevent and Treat Malaria.
Produced by the Health Propaganda and Education Institute of Shaoguan Prefecture, Guangdong Province. Printed by Guangzhou People’s Printing Factory,
May 1965 (10,000 copies).
Timely treatment of malaria and preventive emphasis on the elimination of the breeding grounds of mosquitoes.
The Party Cares about People’s Health after the Liberation
Thanks to emphasis on prevention and treatment of malaria, the numbers of malaria patients have decreased, people’s health improved, and production and reconstruction strengthened.
Do Away with Superstition and Believe in Science
Some people pray to gods in the hope of avoiding the evil spirit of malaria but that is superstition. We must not believe in those lies but science.
We Are Determined to Eradicate Malaria
Produced by the Revolutionary Committee of the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Jinan City, May 1970.
Rhymed couplets of traditional style accompany the health images that emphasize methods of prevention and the role of barefoot doctors.
Do a Good Job of Health Reconstruction in the Countryside
Produced by the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Jiujiang Prefecture. Printed by Jiangxi Printing Company, n.d., ca. 1970.
Health measures are integrated in the agricultural production plan and the transformation of the countryside. Sanitary control of livestock and human lives are equally important in the rural areas to improve health.
Actively Prevent and Treat Malaria
Produced by the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station of Changzhou Prefecture, Hebei Province, n.d., ca. 1972.
Mosquitoes spread malaria and we can prevent it. Images of prevention present different treatments with instruction on taking specific doses of medicine. Improvement of people’s health is emphasized as part of the rural development.
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