Newspapers And Journals In Modern China And Eastward Spread Of Western Medicine

The large-scaled western medicine application of current China initiated at the beginning of the 19th century which was attributed mostly to the efforts of missionaries. The preliminary purpose of transmitting western medicine was to lead Chinese to convert to the gospel of Christ. However, the outcome turned to be another kind of historical picture:a large number of missionary doctors lifted the mysterious veil of the "Gospel maid" and began to use hospitals as the places of charity. Since then, many western missionaries in China established schools, western social associations, translated western books and founded western newspapers. These modern tools of communication not only transmitted western medicine to China but also added some modern factors into traditional Chinese medicine, especially the wide-spread use of newspapers broke ordinary communicating limitations with its unique charm and value and greatly enhanced the effect of spreading of Western medicine which not only opened a prelude of the history of modern Chinese press but also brought the mass media and patterns of transmission to China. It symbolized the innovation of Chinese transmitting tradition.If western missionaries opened a prelude of transmitting the western medicine by the press, then, during the late Qing dynasty, the enlightening newspapers and magazines founded by local western medical groups and medical students studying in Japan broke the situation that foreigners manipulating the western medicine transmission and opened a new chapter of the history of western medicine in China. Although from the aspects of scale and impact, running the enlightening press cannot be compared with the missionary press but objectively accelerated the localization process of spreading of western medicine. The positive significance of enlightening the national spirits, seeking good policy, eliminating church medicine cannot be underestimated. Especially a young man called Chen Yuan, tightly linked his individual prospect with the national safety and actively supports recovering the right of medical education campaign. He was good at utilizing the power of newspaper propogating and educational functions and opened a unique way of saving the country by medicine he used the press as the tool to announce the ideas of saving the nation, protecting people and transmitted the ideas of saving the nation in wider spread.From the view of time and space, transmission of western medicine was developed at an unprecedented speed compared with the late Qing dynasty which was reflected by the increase of the amount of newspapers. Despite the frequent war and social unrest hinder the pace of development, the western medicine developed toughly. Particularly during the eight-year war and the liberation war, the amount of newspapers reached the maximum than ever. The centre of transmission had changed its location for several times eventually, which formed a multi-center network and further enhanced the spread of western newspapers.From the viewpoint of the main body of communication, the emergence of magazines from medical schools, organizations, governments, specialized field indicates that the pattern of multi-agent communication has already formed, and organizational communication has finally been the main form of the dissemination of western medicine. First of all, medical school magazines are significant medium of educational communication as well as important way of teachers/students'scientific activities. Besides, the coexistence of civic organizations and magazines is a landscape of Chinese medical community. Organizations, communities, and magazines concerning western medicine complement each other, and forms the fundamental structure of medical development, especially the one about specialized medical field, which makes concrete preparations for the localization of western medical theory and foundation of modern medical system. What is more, supplements of magazines, which are generally easier, are common to people, and this indicates western medical communication is from the elite to ordinary people. Also, the government magazines, which are always used to express government viewpoints, are playing key roles in directing public opinions. Definitely, they are an important guide for western medical communications.The Revolutionary Base is located in the remote countryside with poor sanitation and backward education, and diseases are the serious threat to the health. But the Revolutionary Base overcame difficulties and made the extensive use of newspapers, journals, and professional press combined with other forms to carry out fruitful health education campaign. With the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the hard work of soldiers and civilians, the historical mission of each period had been successfully accomplished. The success of health education in the revolutionary base left a lot of valuable experience.What did the prosperity of western medical communication in multiple communication style bring to Chinese modern medical science? The article gives a close look at the result of western medical communication based on medical school magazines and academic magazines. Firstly, during the Republican Period, the government decreed for many times about holding back the education sovereignty, carrying out educational system revolution, replacing medical schools founded by churches private medical schools. The government became the largest western medical communication organizations, and prepared large amounts of talents for the formation and development of western medical communities. Secondly, the influx of western medical science indicates that western medical communication had already transferred from information intake to system construction—localization of theoretical system and practical mode. The emergence of academic community and magazines provides organizational insurance and system foundation for the transplantation and reproduction of western medical system in China, promoted the development of academic research, and enlarged western medical communities. Thirdly, western medical communities were not only the producers and carriers of modern medical knowledge production, but also recommenders and practitioners of modern medical work. It was the basic character of public medical work that government donated, society participated, and people enjoyed. The process of building public medical system was actually a process of nationalization, socialization and popularization. In fact, western medical communities cared very much about the nationalization, socialization and popularization of public medical worked when they learned the advanced medical system from foreign countries. Therefore, we can see the key point and developing direction of future medical work.