Workshop on East Asia:
Politics, Economy and Society Presents

“Medical Missions and Western Medicine in 19th Century China”

Xiaoli Tian
Doctoral Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Chicago
4:30-5:50pm, Tuesday
February 8, 2011
Pick Lounge
5828 South University Ave.

Abstract:
Using the historical case of how medical missionaries introduce Western medicine into China during 1807-1840, this article shows that during the process of knowledge transmission, the initial conditions of entry of a new knowledge have long term effects that are difficult to overcome. Because of the practical circumstances faced by Protestant missionaries when they first arrived at China in the 19th century, they had to rely on Chinese assistants. They also had to assume medical mission as an evangelizing tool. Consequently, both religious work and medical work were conducted with the help of local assistants of lower class origins. The local agents of this new knowledge were poor students who were outside of the traditional knowledge system. However, in traditional China, legitimacy was based on status, literary and lineage. Therefore, the result of this way of relocating knowledge is that the new knowledge was lack of ground for building legitimacy in the traditional society.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/
Student coordinator: Jean Lin (jeanlin@uchicago.edu)
Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang and Dingxin Zhao
The workshop is sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies and the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance, please contact the student coordinator in advance.