A study on Macau’s role in the eastward spread of western medicine from the perspective of procedural grounded theory

Main Article Content

Baoling Wu https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5453-6031
Hanxiang Gong https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9629-2076
Xi Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9971-4748

Keywords

Eastward Spread of Western Medicine, Procedural Grounded Theory, Macau

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to elucidate the origins of the eastward spread of Western medicine, trace its dissemination in China, and examine Macau’s role in this process. The objective is to verify the profound impact of the Western medical knowledge system on the healthcare system in Macau. Method: Research samples were extracted from ten classic medical history writings discussing the eastward spread of Western medicine or related to Western medicine in Macau. Based on procedural grounded theory, open coding, axial coding, and selective coding were performed using Nvivo. Results: A total of 798 coding references were generated, forming 39 concepts, six subcategories, and two categories, with “medical treatment” as the core category to construct a framework for analyzing Macau's role in the spread of Western medicine. Conclusion: Macau served as the initial entry point for Western physicians into China, facilitating the introduction of a significant number of Western drugs and medical techniques. Western medical missionaries established hospitals in Macau and extended their influence to mainland China. They also played a crucial role in disseminating Western medical knowledge by translating and compiling Western medical literature.

Abstract 61 | PDF Downloads 50

References

1. Malcolm EL. The Chinese Repository and Western Literature on China 1800 to 1850. Modern Asian Studies 1973; 7(2):165–78.
2. Wong HC. China’s Opposition to Western Science during Late Ming and Early Ch’ing. Isis 1963; 54(1):29–49.
3. Zhang Q. Europe Meets China—China Meets Europe: The Beginnings of European-Chinese Scientific Exchange in the 17thCentury: Proceedings of the International and Interdisciplinary Symposium at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn, May 10–12, 2012, edited by Shu-Jyuan Deiwiks, Bernhard Führer, and Therese Geulen. Journal of Jesuit Studies 2016; 3(3):514–7.
4. Zhang Y-B, Lu X-F. [A re-ponderation about the eastward spread of western medicine into China and the process of its recognition by the Chinese]. Zhonghua Yi Shi Za Zhi (Beijing, China: 1980) 2013; 43(5):281–4.
5. Xiao Z-Q, Xiao J-A. Mathew Ricci and His Contributions to the Translation History of China. Journal of Loudi Teachers College 2003; 33–5.
6. Klein T. Christopher A. Daily. Robert Morrison and the Protestant Plan for China. The American Historical Review 2015; 120(2):594.
7. Fu L. The protestant medical missions to China: Dr Thomas Richardson Colledge (1796-1879) and the founding of the Macao Ophthalmic Hospital. Journal of Medical Biography 2013; 21(2):118–23.
8. Sun J. Medical implication in the Bible and its relevance to modern medicine. Journal of Integrative Medicine 2013; 11(6):416–21.
9. Zhu SY. [Macau ‘Baimahang’ Hospital: an early western medicine hospital in China]. Zhonghua Yi Shi Za Zhi (Beijing, China: 1980) 2021; 51(2):117–21.
10. Chen S. An Information War Waged by Merchants and Missionaries at Canton: The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China, 1834–1839. Modern Asian Studies 2012; 46(6):1705–35.
11. Kerr JJ. Medicine in China. The North American Medico-Chirurgical Review 1859; 3(2):282–97.
12. Eisenhardt KM, Graebner ME. Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges. Academy of Management Journal 2007; 50(1):25–32.
13. Edgington ES. Review of The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Canadian Psychologist / Psychologie canadienne 1967; 8a(4):360.
14. Foley G, Timonen V. Using Grounded Theory Method to Capture and Analyze Health Care Experiences. Health Services Research 2015; 50(4):1195–210.
15. Corbin J, Strauss A. Basics of Qualitative Research (3rd Ed.): Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc; 2008.
16. Charmaz K. Constructing Grounded Theory. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2014.