I am writing in the hope of pursuing advanced studies in the field of Health Education in North America. Such studies, I believe, will put me in a position to help bridge the traditional Chinese medicine and modern Western medicine. I would like to make a career in the exchanges and communications between these two of world's main traditions of medical practice.

Born into a family made up of traditional Chinese doctors, I have been attracted to and educated in the traditional Chinese medicine since I was a little kid. My parents, both famous experts in the traditional medicine, permeated my life with traditional Chinese medicine, which led to my decision in 1990, when I graduated from high school, to study at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine with Chinese pharmacology as my major.

During the seven years at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I worked very hard and completed a total of 55 undergraduate courses and nine graduate courses. My undergraduate GPA ranked the first among 81 students of my same grade and my graduate GPA ranked among the top 5% in my class. Besides courses listed on my transcript, I did a lot of experimentation in relation to these courses. I also spent one year on Japanese and Latin. My outstanding academic performance won me acceptance into a major research group studying special Chinese herbal medicine-Matixiang (Saruma Henryi Oliv.) in 1993. The only one in my class to enjoy this precious opportunity, I took full advantage of the seasoned guidance of famous professors and specialists. My duties included extracting the essential oil from this plant and analyze its components by GC-MS and studying the pharmacognosy of Matixiang. The results of my research were considered so important that they were reported in the highly respected academic journals o China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica (1994) and Primary Journal of Chinese Materia Medica (1994).

Apart from pursuing studies in my major Chinese Pharmacology, I also delved into many other areas of the Chinese medicine. Fascinated by the abstruse theories and clinical potency of traditional Chinese medicine, I joined many academic associations in relation to my studies, such as Qigong, ear acupuncture and Chinese massage, to share ideas and experiences with other experts. Members of these associations have often banged together to offer voluntary community services, in which they would propagate knowledge of traditional medicine and provide free consultation and treatment to patients. An eager participant in these activities, I find it deeply satisfying to help those in need. Indoctrinated by my parents and other mentors, I take it as my mission to help people keep their health, and I believe that my self-worth ultimately depends on the extent to which I can fulfil this mission.

On the strength of my academic performance, I gained acceptance in 1994 into the graduate program of my university without the normally mandatory entrance exams. As a graduate student, I chose to focus my studies on Chinese materia medica as part of the "exploitation of natural medical resources" research area. In my research, I became solidly grounded in the methods of separating, analyzing, and identifying chemical compounds in Chinese herbal medicine, such as UV, IR, TLC, EI-MS, NMR, etc. Part of the results of my project were reported in China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica (1998).

Since graduation in July 1997, I have been working for the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine at its Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, the country's first national institution specializing in the research of Chinese materia medica. Here, I have been part of a team trying to find out the chemical constituents of traditional Chinese drugs, and to work out the best processing technology for these drugs. Now I am the purpose of which is to collect all the materials available related to Chinese drug processing throughout the world from the year 1990 to the present day. For this purpose, I have searched for information by hand, by index in computers, by the Internet and many other ways. We have now collected approximately five thousand articles, making up an effective data library for future research. Meanwhile, I also participate in a project to extract poison out of realgar so that it can be used in prescription drugs. We are now on the way to find a commercially viable processing technology to eliminate realgar's poison and preserve its effect. Once we do, we will establish a quality control program for realgar's production. The project is now well under way despite frustration once in a while.

As the institute has functioned as WHO's cooperative center in China for traditional medicine since 1983, it regularly hosts national scientific symposia, academic seminars and international academic exchanges. I have therefore had the opportunities to learn from visiting foreign scholars and exchange academic ideas with them. Such communications have improved my laboratory skills and enriched my theoretical training.

After eight years of studies and research, I now have unswerving faith in the power of the traditional Chinese medicine, notwithstanding any skepticism there might be in other people's minds. It may be unique in the way it prevents and treats diseases from a Western point of view, but it is very effective in preserving people's health and rehabilitating them after they fall ill. It has contributed a lot to the treatment and even elimination of diseases throughout the world, particularly in China. I believe that, as people everywhere endeavor harder and harder to maintain and prolong their life, the traditional Chinese medicine offers an alternative or at least an important supplement to modern Western medicine. And I would like to spread this belief of mine by promoting academic exchanges on medical and pharmacological sciences between China and other countries.

My English proficiency will no doubt help me as I conduct and engage in academic exchanges with American professionals. As has been mentioned, I have had many opportunities to confer with visiting scholars, and this, coupled with my diligent learning, has given me a solid command of English, as demonstrated by my TOEFL score of 610 (TWE:5). With a vocabulary of nearly 20,000 words, I generally speak, read or write English without any difficulty. Such English proficiency is surely sufficient for me to undertake advanced studies and research at an American university.

Health Education is where I wish to establish my career. In fact, I want to dedicate myself to health education all my life. My education and work experience so far have already formed a good basis for my pursuit of this career. Should I get to study with you in your program, all will be well as far as I am concerned.