Lingering About And Moving Forward—Research On Stout Memorial Hospital(1865—1949)

Stout Memorial Hospital in Kwangsi Province is one of the earliest western medicine hospitals,which was developed on the basis of the opening of a Western medicine clinic in Wu chow's Zhuyi Street(Danan Road at present)in 1865 by Rev.Roswell H.Graves,an American medical missionary.So far,it owns a history of more than 100 years.It occupies an important position in the history of Kwangsi medical development,and it is also the first hospital with a modern hospital scale in Kwangsi.In recent years,the researches of the academic circles on the history of the contemporary church medical society are getting deeper and deeper,and the church hospital also receives great attention.The current researches in the academic circle pay little attention to the secularization process of many specific hospitals so that we have vague understanding for the hospital's development clues,which is difficult to trace the development the model of the modern church hospitals.Although scholars in the academic circle have a simple understanding to Stout Memorial Hospital,there is no special systematic discourse,and there is a lot of ambiguity in understanding.From the initial small clinic to the western medicine hospital with the scale of modern hospital,Stout Memorial Hospital has experienced a complicated evolution process.After the Non-Christian Movement,Stout Memorial Hospital tended to be the specialized and secularized,whose religious color was gradually weakened.In particular,during the period of Anti-Japanese War,Stout Memorial Hospital played an important role in social and medical assistance,showed the role of the hospital,and highlights the process of the hospital's secularization.How did Stout Memorial Hospital carry out during the long process of the secularization?What factors were involved to promote?What kind of role and influence will it have on the development of the modern hospitals and even on the transformation of local modernization?How should we look at this special group of medical missionaries?All of the above-mentioned questions need us to further research.From the perspective of the regional social history,this thesis makes a detailed analysis on the development process of Stout Memorial Hospital with the aim to help us to obtain a more consistent understanding in the compliance with the historical status,the function,and the nature of the missionary hospital.In combination with the analysis on the historical materials,this thesis is to objectively narrate and explore the historical development process of Stout Memorial Hospital.This thesis is divided into five parts.The first part is the background of the establishment of Stout Memorial Hospital.Namely,it focuses on the question why Stout Memorial Hospital was established in Wu chow.The second part is about the early development of Stout Memorial Hospital.One of it is to expound the process of starting up the clinic;the other of it is to expound the process of developing into the modern hospital.This part summarizes the difficult course of forming the embryonic form of Stout Memorial Hospital,Namely,it introduces how the medical missionary begins?The third part focuses on the expansion period of Stout Memorial Hospital.It introduces how the Stout Memorial Hospital integrated into the local society after the foreign-related cases.Namely,it introduces how Stout Memorial Hospital was expanded?The fourth part is the social impact that Stout Memorial Hospital confronted during the period of the Non-Christian Movement.Namely,it introduces how Stout Memorial Hospital dealt with it?The fifth part focuses on Stout Memorial Hospital's struggling in adversity during the period of Anti-Japanese War.Namely,it focuses on how Stout Memorial Hospital sustained when confronting the life-and-death adversity.The sixth part expounds the influences of Stout Memorial Hospital on three aspects,including the medical cause,the public health cause,and the local social development.Namely,it introduces how Stout Memorial Hospital interacted with the local society?Through the investigation of the emergence,development,and evolution of Stout Memorial Hospital,the thesis makes efforts to restore the development track of Stout Memorial Hospital and clarify the process of secularization of Stout Memorial Hospital so as to analyze the changes of the church hospitals in modern society.Then,from the perspective of the cultural exchange between China and the Western countries as well as the "modernization" research paradigm,it expounds the objective influences of the church hospitals on the local society,and obtains an objective evaluation on the medical service of the church.Stout Memorial Hospital was established by Southern Baptist Convention(SBC)for missionary service.However,with the acceptance of the church hospital in the local society as well as the understanding and deepening of the Chinese people to the western medicine,the church hospitals entered into the track of secularization and professionalization and their religious color gradually desalinated.In addition to the exemplary role in medical technology,the church hospitals also promoted the progression of other social activities,and promoted the transformation of the modern local society from the traditional form to the modern form.Stout Memorial Hospital brought modern western medicine knowledge to the local society,fostered a large number of talents,and laid the foundation for the local modern medical education,hospital management,and the health and epidemic prevention system.Meanwhile,it changed the people's concept of medical treatment.It can draw a conclusion that it is an important driving force for the transformation of the local society from the traditional form to the modern form.The improvement of the medical situation of Stout Memorial Hospital to the local society is far greater than the contribution of the evangelical spread,and deviates from the original intention of the mission.The effectiveness of the medical treatment and rescue assistance is far greater than the original intention of the dissemination of religion.Although this is not the original intention of the church and its medical missionary work,it is often the case.