However, Western medicine started to replace TCM due to the influence of movements such as the Self-Strengthening Movement (1861 to 1895) in China, which promoted an Eurocentric form of modernism and derided “traditional Chinese beliefs” such as TCM, feng shui, and other practices as superstition at worst and cultural convention at best.
These intellectuals, who included Dr Sun Yat-sen in their ranks, thus pushed for Western medicine to replace traditional Chinese medicine. Accordingly, in the twentieth century, Western medicine was the mainstream form of medical treatment for most of the population. During this time, there was no official government support for TCM and there was no government-funded tertiary education specialising in TCM, either.
Nevertheless, most people continued to consult TCM practitioners, particularly for improving the functional state of the body and treating ailments that were not always easily treated by Western medicine, such as skin conditions, mouth cankers, colds, and sexual dysfunction. During this time period, TCM practitioners like Tam Po-kwan also established their own private schools to teach TCM. Like many other traditional Chinese medicine practitioners of his generation, Tam had fled from mainland China to Hong Kong in the 1950s to escape political instability. This massive surge of practitioners in the post-war period led to a flowering of private educational institutions specialising in TCM.