The Spread of Christian Gospel and Social Influence through Medical Mission: A Case Study of Ningbo Huamei Hospital

Wenzun Xuan

doi:10.63313/IJSSEH.9024

Authors

Wenzun Xuan College of Chinese Languages, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63313/IJSSEH.9024

Keywords:

Christianity, Huamei Hospital, Medical Mission, Missionaries, Ningbo

Abstract

This paper explores the development of Christian missionary medical undertakings in modern China, focusing on the establishment and contributions of Ningbo Huamei Hospital. Christianity experienced ups and downs since the introduction of Nestorianism in the Tang Dynasty, but its spread was significantly promoted under foreign pressure following the Opium Wars and the Qing Dynasty's decline. Huamei Hospital, originally founded by the missionary D.J. Macgowan in 1843, evolved from a small clinic into a systematic Western medical institution and played a positive role in historic events in modern China. Particularly during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the hospital provided medical aid to the wounded and made significant contributions to the timely diagnosis and prevention of the plague caused by biological warfare. The approach of "medicine as a means, gospel as the end" not only facilitated the mission of spreading the Christian gospel but also profoundly influenced the modernization process of China’s medical and social practices.

References

[1] C. Gu, Missionaries and Modern China. Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1990, p. 296.

[2] T. Wang, Compilation of Old Treaties between China and Foreign Countries, vol. 1. Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1957, pp. 54, 254.

[3] T. Wang, Compilation of Old Treaties between China and Foreign Countries, vol. 1. Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1957, p. 107.

[4] Q. Han, L. Wang, H. Wu, and Q. Zhang, Eds., Centennial Archives of Ningbo Huamei Hospital. Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2018, Preface p. 1.

[5] "Medical Missionary Society in China," Chinese Repository, Feb. 1844, pp. 111-112.

[6] "The Passion of Dr. Grant," Centennial Archives of Ningbo Huamei Hospital.

[7] L. Wang, H. Wu, and Q. Zhang, Eds., Centennial Archives of Ningbo Huamei Hospital (Vol. 1). Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2018, p. 31.

[8] Party History Research Office of the CPC Ningbo Municipal Committee, Casualties and Property Losses in Ningbo during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (Vol. 1), p. 25.

[9] "Zhejiang Plague Investigation Report," in Centennial Archives of Ningbo Huamei Hospital (Vol. 3), L. Wang, H. Wu, and Q. Zhang, Eds. Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2022, pp. 77, 137-138.

[10] Z. Li, "Record of the Great Bombing of Ningbo," Sept. 1, 2013. [Online].Available:http://www.nbzx.gov.cn/art/2013/9/1/art_1229608300_19485.html. Accessed: Dec. 24, 2024.

[11] Y. Yao and L. Wang, "Historical Facts about Ningbo Huamei Hospital and the Chiang Kai-shek Regime," Journal of Ningbo University of Technology, vol. 31, no. 1, Mar. 2019.

[12] "Regulations of Ningbo Huamei Hospital," in Report of Ningbo Huamei Hospital (Issue 1).

[13] K. Xu and H. Jiang, "Investigation of Ningbo Huamei Hospital in the Eastward Spread of Western Medicine," Journal of Ningbo Radio and TV University, vol. 6, no. 3, Sept. 2008.