Malaria has been with us since the dawn of civilisation.  The Greeks described it, and it was also widespread in Italy until the Pontine Marshes were drained.  In the Middle Ages it was common in England, where it was known as the ague, but was absent from Scotland because of the colder climate. Other parts of the world suffered as much as Europe and there is plenty of written evidence that it occurred in China, particularly in the south. 

Dugald Christie, a Scottish Christian in Changing China
by Ian Wotherspoon

Forty Years of the Scotland–China Association, I
by John Chinnery 

As an introduction to this subject, I could not do better than to augment the first page of a short article I wrote on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the foundation of our organisation, printed in the November 1996 issue of Sine.
 
The forerunner of the SCA was the Britain–China Friendship Association, which was set up in London in 1949.  Its inaugural meeting was addressed by, among others, the celebrated American journalist Agnes Smedley (pictured, with PLA pre-1949) who had been resident in China since the 1930s and was acquainted with many of the leaders of the new government.

Forty Years of the Scotland–China Association, II : Changes Over the Years
by Elsie Collier 

The path the SCA has taken in its first 40 years hs been influenced by three things: China’s culture and her social, political and economic development; individual members of the Association, their specific interests in China, and, in some cases, their areas of expertise and their jobs; and the fact that we are a voluntary organisation.

In the 1970s members, some of whom were lecturers at the universities in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, spoke at schools conferences jointly organised with other bodies.  Here are some: