Selskar Gunn and China: The Rockefeller Foundation's "Other" Approach to Public Health

The Rockefeller Foundation's program for rural development in China was developed by Selskar Gunn during the period 1932–34 and was initiated in 1935. It was multidisciplinary in nature, and its aim was to raise the educational, social, and economic standards of rural China. It was recognized by some at the time as an alternative to the International Health Division's approach to public health. This paper describes the program, what led Gunn to develop it in China, and the internal tensions that it created. Also addressed is the question of why this program had such limited impact on subsequent developments in the field of international health.