The death of Chen Xiaoxu, who became a television icon in the 1980s for her performance in the classic series Dream of the Red Mansion, broke the hearts of many fans last year.
But the comments of celebrity physicist He Zuoxiu, who claims that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) killed her, have disheartened many TCM practitioners.
Media coverage of the 43-year-old actress' attitude towards breast cancer therapy and Professor He's comment last year placed the gulf between TCM and western medicine in the spotlight again.
The Buddhist actress, who shaved her head to become a nun three months before her death, rejected western therapeutic treatments. It was reported that she was unwilling to undergo painful chemotherapy and was concerned about the effects on her body.
'She refused surgery because she loved beauty, and wanted her body to be intact during the last stage of her life,' Ms Chen's father told a Phoenix TV talk show.
She relied solely on TCM and died shortly after the public became aware of her decision to become a nun.
A few weeks later, Professor He said Ms Chen was killed by traditional Chinese medicine. He derided 90 per cent of TCM as 'trash', describing only 10 per cent as the 'quintessence' of the field in a newspaper interview.