There Are Other Aspects Besides Medical Domain:A Research On The Application And Influence Of X-ray To The Social Life In The Republican China(1912-1949)

In 1895,the German physicist Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen discovered X-ray,and soon X-ray was introduced to the society of the late Qing Dynasty.Entering the Republic of China,the mass media further disseminated information on the principles,research progress,and specific applications of X-ray,and X-ray as a kind of knowledge gradually gained popularity.The public’s cognition of X-ray has mostly experienced a psychological process from doubt to curiosity to praise.During the Republic of China,X-ray was widely used in all aspects of social life.In the field of medicine,X-ray played an important role in the field of public epidemic prevention,in addition to being widely used in routine hospital examination.Taking the prevention of tuberculosis as an example,Shanghai had launched two large-scale collective anti-tuberculosis campaigns,and efficient and accurate X-ray detection has played a key role.Since then,X-rays have been used in many parts of the country to check for lung diseases on a large scale,which has played a positive role in preventing the spread of tuberculosis.In the field of public life,Chinese people have more diversified attempts to apply X-rays,which not only bring convenience to people’s lives,but also cause certain negative effects.X-rays can be used in areas such as case investigation,and can also become a gimmick for business propaganda,or even become a tool for criminals to make profits.The misuse and abuse of X-rays often lead to undesirable consequences and have been widely criticized by the public.Of course,some people of insight try to use X-rays in industry and commerce to accelerate China’s modernization process.However,due to factors such as the level of science and technology,wars,etc.,they stayed more at the translation and introduction of relevant foreign research results,and did not implement them on a small scale until the 1940s.In the field of ideas and concepts,X-rays have deepened the Chinese people’s understanding of human experience,and once became a tool for mutual attacks in the debate between Chinese and Western medicine.Intellectuals have elevated X-rays as a kind of discourse,seeing them as a "monster-revealing mirror" of social chaos.In short,X-ray has a diverse and far-reaching impact on the society.As a diagnosis and treatment technology,it plays a key role in public epidemic prevention;As a science and technology,it brings convenience to people’s lives while also bringing all kinds of chaos;As a cultural symbol,it triggered extensive thinking and discussion among the public and enriched the language and culture of the Republic of China.