Abstract: This article investigates how “Jesuit medicine”and “Jesuit medical practices”under the Kangxi
Emperor's ( r． 1662—1722) patronage of Western Learning functioned within a wider context of multi-
ethnic medical practices． Missionaries at the court in general，and those specia lized in medicine in
particular，became medical interlocutors of European medicine to China and of Chinese medicine to
Europe． Practicing medicine in the service of the Kangxi Emperor provided them with an opportunity for
personal and even intimate access to the Emperor and his environment． Manchu and Chinese Medical
Palace Memorials，the main type of primary sources used for this study，bear witness to the transmission
of Jesuit medicine and practice to the Kangxi court． By highlighting the private and confidential nature of
these documents and the factional court politics they reflect，it is shown how medicine became one of the
fields of Western Learning that was systematically patronized by the Emperor． In addition，this article
identifies a number of important actors belonging to a wide network of imperial power and privilege．
Power and privilege are especially manifest in cases of the health problems of important officials，officers，
and members of the imperial family when the Kangxi Emperor took a personal interest in their illnesses，
sometimes even distributing Jesuit medical drugs to them．