Gonorrhea in China: shaping medical knowledge and transforming public perceptions

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been a persistent global challenge, with gonorrhea, caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae , remaining an enduring threat. Despite its clinical and social importance, the historical evolution of gonorrhea-related knowledge and public perceptions in China have received limited scholarly attention. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing two interconnected threads: first, the formulation of medical knowledge, encompassing Traditional Chinese Medicine’s (TCM) understanding of linzheng (淋证) and Western medicine’s definition of gonorrhea; second, the evolution of public perceptions, shifting from endogenous pathology to exogenous risk. This study reveals how gonorrhea transitioned from being understood as a traditional illness to being recognized as a sexually transmitted disease, from being part of general medical education to becoming a focal point of sex-oriented education, and from being perceived as an individual ailment to being understood as a social issue.