Study Of The Early Church Women’s Hospital In China (1875-1900)

One of the traditions of Christianity is developing missionary work with the help of medicine. After the church introduced western hospital system into China, female hospitals were established in order to adapt to Chinese men’s and women’s big prevention. In the 1870s, the church began to explore women’s medical enterprise in China. Beijing Women’s Hospital established in 1875 by Dr. Combs is the first female hospital in modern China. In 1877, Fuzhou Women and Children Hospital formally completed, which was hosted by Dr. Trask. During this period, Methodist Episcopal Church occupied a dominant position in founding female hospitals, which sent many female missionary doctors to China. The two Christian women hospitals set up at this time were on a smaller scale, but they are the beginning of modern Chinese women’s medical cause and laid the foundation for the church for further women medical work. In the 1880s, Christian women’s medical enterprise stepped into its initial developing stage in China. Recognition and support of the officials for female medical missionaries became an important addition to the Christian women medical enterprise. Methodist Episcopal Church, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and Baptist all created women and children hospitals in places such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Jiangsu. In the 1890s, with further development of Christian medical enterprise, in view of the fact that men and women have inconvenience in the same hospital, some hospitals began to consider men and women apart to see the doctor. The Mains opened Hangchow Female Hospital in 1894. Due to the female staff shortage, female medical missionaries set up the women’s school of medicine, training local medical assistants and easily communicating with Chinese female patients. Female missionary doctors concerned about Chinese women’s physical and mental health, criticized Chinese undesirable customs and trained the Chinese modern society’s first female western doctors, to some extent, improving the treatment level of the Chinese women.