Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The Western world has a profound historical engagement with medicinal resources originating from China. Following the Opium War, missionaries were granted access to China and established residence there. Motivated by clinical necessities and the inquisitiveness of the Western scientific community, these missionaries meticulously documented the medicinal resources available in China, endeavoring to incorporate this knowledge into Western pharmacology. Among the various reports produced in multiple languages, the contributions in English have emerged as particularly influential. This article seeks to analyze the information-gathering processes within the missionary network and among other naturalists, commencing with Robert Morrison, the inaugural compiler of the English-Chinese dictionary, and extending to Stephen A. Hunter, who collaborated with Chinese officials to develop a complete translation for pharmaceutical nomenclature.
Author: Che‐chia Chang
Institution: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Award: G7489393043
OpenAlex ID: W4404590060