This article concerns the changes in Chinese medical education which have taken place since the Cultural Revolution, specifically the relationship between political ideology and actual practice. It synthesizes the documentation which appeared in a series of articles devoted to a public discussion on the direction and emphasis in medical and health work published in Renmin Ribao (People's Daily), Peking, from December 8, 1968 to November 4, 1975. The major themes of the public discussion are: (a) medical and health work serving the masses; (b) insistence on the "correct" revolutionary line; (c) combining theory with practice; (d) unity of traditional Chinese and Western medicine; (e) putting prevention first; and (f) emphasis on medical personnel retaining the characteristics of the working people. This is followed by a transcript prepared by the authors from a tape recording made during a visit to Zhongshan Medical College of Guangzhou (Canton) on November 5, 1974 describing the relationship between political ideology and actual practice in the field of contemporary Chinese medical education.