Towards the Public: Books Translated and Complied by Chinese People and the Dissemination of Western Pharmaceutical Knowledge in the Late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China
Liu Feiwen
(Institute of Modern Chinese History, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079)
Abstract:In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, books translated and complied by Chinese people on Western pharmacy emerged, which were theoretical, practical as well as marketable. Authors such as Ding Fubao and Wang Tiyu translated Japanese books into Chinese, along with journals, short-term medical training programs and books on various subjects of Western medicine, disseminated new, systematic and concise knowledge to the public. These books provided guidance for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to learn about Western remedies, instructions for ordinary people to use medication to deal with diseases, and shortcuts for some readers to “becoming a doctor through self-study”. This case reflected how Western knowledge was commercialized and socialized in modern China, and affected people's ideas and daily lives. The old custom of learning medical knowledge by reading provided a fertile ground for the popularity of such books, but it also began to arouse criticism from some physicians. It showed a tension between the “specialized” path and the “publicized” path in the process of disseminating Western pharmaceutical knowledge in China.
刘菲雯. 走向公众:清末民初的国人译编书籍与西药知识的传播[J]. 华中师范大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2024, 63(3): 155-168.
Liu Feiwen. Towards the Public: Books Translated and Complied by Chinese People and the Dissemination of Western Pharmaceutical Knowledge in the Late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China. journal1, 2024, 63(3): 155-168.