The history of psychoanalysis in China

This article provides an overview of the development of psychoanalysis in
China based on literature and personal observations. We situate this history
in the context of the cognate disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, and
psychotherapy, all of which are shaped by the massive political and social
transformations of modern and contemporary China. Our account starts
with a preliminary beginning prior to 1949, which fell largely outside the
clinical domain. What follows is a brief description of how this nascent
development was extinguished under three decades of radical socialism.
The main part of the article deals with the post-reform period that began in
the late 1970s, as the introduction of Western psychotherapy and psychoanalysis became possible again after the Cultural Revolution. Emphasis is
placed on the past 15 years or so, a period known for an explosive growth
of professional and popular interests in psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and
psychology in China’s major cities.