Abstract
This article analyzes Wang Honghan’s Medical History: Past and Present to investigate how he applied Western natural philosophy and Christianity to present a new interpretation of Chinese medical history from the ancient period until the seventeenth century. By analyzing Wang Honghan’s Medical History: Past and Present, the author attempts to understand how historical actors situated at cultural crossroads utilized and blended diverse cultural factors to create their personal historical narration, affirm the meaning of their careers as Confucian physicians, and formulate and disseminate their religious beliefs. As an adherent of Western natural philosophy and a believer of Christianity, Wang Honghan maintained that Christianity, Confucianism, and medicine had been a unified system of thought and practice in ancient China. However, after the Qin Dynasty, the Chinese eventually lost their Christian faith. As a result, heterodox beliefs and practices replaced the interconnection between authentic Christianity, Confucianism, and medicine. After formulating a theory of symbiosis between Confucianism, Christianity, and medicine, Wang applied Western natural philosophy and Christianity to refute the effectiveness which previous histories of Chinese medical texts had attributed to healing methods drawing on Buddhist, Taoist, and shamanic practices such as divination, exorcism, and incantation. He also disclaimed the efficacy of surgery.
Wang Honghan’s reinterpretation of Chinese medical history ultimately resulted in the establishment of the practice of consulting certain medical classics as the foundation for the practice of medicine. By using the teachings of Christianity and Western natural philosophy, Wang was able to refute the legitimacy of other religious medical practices and redefine medicine as the exclusive enterprise of Confucian physicians. The embracement of Western knowledge and Christianity gave Wang Honghan the exceptional opportunity to recast his identity, and this new identity, in turn, fortified his religious commitment.
Keywords
Wang Honghan, history of medicine, Confucian physician, Christianity, natural philosophy
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