This paper examines the “Medical Advisory Column” in the Ladies' Journal (Funu zazhi). This column invited readers to write letters inquiring about medical advice or health problems, and a medical doctor would answer their questions. One of the Journal's purposes was to promote modern science and medicine, and this column allows us to examine the extent that readers were so influenced. Furthermore, due to the nature of medical questions, the letters often reveal personal information about the readers, and accordingly these letters provide a sampling of readers' backgrounds. There are reliable indications that despite the Ladies' Journal's claim to be for women, it had a considerable portion of male readers. Although most of the letters came from metropolises, some letters are from the countryside or even overseas. Most readers were in their teens or twenties, these attributes being reflected in the letters. Among the questions, gynecologic problems are not particularly numerous. Most concerned issues such as appearance and attractions, which especially young people concerned, and problems eyes or the brain, which were essential for school. Some readers showed their complete acceptance of the modern medicine as broadcast by the magazine; however, many more cases demonstrate that many readers ignored the magazine's claims that traditional Chinese medicine was absurd and that patent medicine were unreliable. Such readers repeatedly asked for the doctor's opinions about Chinese medical ideas and druggist advertisements, and the doctor was frustrated by his incapacity to extinguish such questions. Much research on modern Chinese medical history has focused on the development of institutions and the activities of eminent doctors, while neglecting the receiver's side. This paper is an attempt to explore the common people's point of view. The establishment of modern medicine in China was not smooth but experienced many challenges, wrestling with rooted preconceptions and distorted understandings. The “Medical Advisory Column” was originally designed to be part of the promotion of scientific medicine, but in the final analysis its efforts were largely fruitless.