Plague Times: Scientific Internationalism and the Manchurian Plague of 1910/1911

Abstract

Among epidemic diseases, plague is particularly charged with historical memory and ominous cultural connotations. In many parts of the world, plague's seemingly mysterious origins, its gruesome ways of spreading, and its powers of devastation have raised it to a symbol of evil. In several languages, the word “plague” itself has become synonymous with scourge and universal disaster over the centuries. However, plague is not only a disease from the remote past; it also exemplifies the biological globalisation of modern times, highlighting at once socio-biological phenomena, global connectedness, and other dimensions of modernity. In particular, outbreaks of the so-called third plague pandemic from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century made the disease an oppressive reality in many regions of the world.

A saúde, a peste, a ciência e a ignorância: uma reflexão da História Ambiental sobre a Peste da Manchúria

“…Mas afinal o que ocorreu na Sibéria Oriental que desencadeou essa última epidemia de peste bubônica informada acima? A literatura a respeito, como o clássico relatório sobre o assunto de Wu (1914), Benedict (1996), Knab (2011), apontam que essa epidemia da Manchúria não se relaciona com algumas epidemias da peste bubônica no sul da China, mas, ocorreu em áreas da Mongólia e da Sibéria onde a Marmota sibirica (RADDE, 1862), marmota Sciuridae, tem seu habitat, sendo, portanto, muito comum nessas regiões. Esse roedor é considerado um reservatório natural da Y. Pestes, ou seja, alberga a bactéria, sem, no entanto, sofrer grandes prejuízos, embora muitos animais adoeçam.…”

Epidemics as Events and as Crises: Comparing Two Plague Outbreaks in Manchuria (1910–11 and 1920–21)

“…Other scholars have discussed the impact of the First International Plague Conference held in April 1911 in Mukden (Perrins 2006), the nature of quarantine enforcement during the outbreak (Cheng 2010), the effect of the outbreak on Japanese colonial medicine (Perrins 2005) and its role in forging a new position for China in international medical diplomacy (Cherin 1989;Liew 2009;Knab 2011). Most recently, William Summers' monograph on the first Manchurian plague epidemic, though suffering from a paucity of Chinese, Russian and Japanese sources, has further contributed to establishing the 1910-11 outbreak as the defining moment in the ushering in of modern medicine and public health in China.…”

Transnationality and Nationalism: Shared and Contested Memories of Wu Lien-Teh across East and Southeast Asia in Post-SARS Era

“…Much has been written about Wu Lien-Teh-Penang born, Cambridge University-trained medical doctor-who became a world-renown plaque fighter after successfully combating a pneumonic plaque outbreak, which killed over 60,000 persons in Manchuria, China, in 1910-1911(Flohr 1996Gamsa 2006;Ho 2000;Knab 2011;Lee et al 2014;Lei 2010;Luesink 2009;Wang 2007;Wong 2007;Wu 1995). This article does not seek to trace what has been written about Wu and his legacies in epidemic prevention and public health from early 20th century to the present.…”

“…As existing literature shows, both Chinese nationalism and the institutionalisation of public health are embedded in and shaped by transnational forces (Duara 1997;Knab 2011;Lei 2010). The major argument of this article is that, post-SARS memorialisation of Wu in the region too, has been shaped by both national as well as transnational forces in each country.…”

“…1 Mark Gamsa's work (2006) has a comprehensive and critical discussion on the historiography of the Manchurian Plague. The existing historiography can be categorised into three types: (1) Wu Lien-Teh centred and triumphalist narrative of science advancement and modern medicine over plague and superstition (Flohr 1996); (2) a polyphonic narrative that decentres "great doctor" and tells the anti-plague campaign as a process characterised by competition between traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and biomedically trained scientists as well as between historical actors of different national origins, the employment of police force, cremation and quarantine in combating plague, and the disregarding of the lives of the lower class Chinese and the plague victims and thus their resistance against certain anti-plague measures (Gamsa 2006); and (3) globalisation narrative with a focus on foreign and local historical actors against the background of internationalisation of public health and science (Knab 2011). Gamsa (2006 has also pointed out that the eulogies of Wu, science advancement narrative and "self-flattering" image of nation is common in China's "state-driven" history of the Manchurian plague.…”