EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 12 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 135 colonial power interacted with local society and how Japanese and Taiwanese participated in the creation and practice of colonial medicine. In 1895, Taiwan became Japan’s “new territory.”Yet, in the early years of the colonial rule, Japanese colo- nizers found Taiwan a difficult place to administer. In particular, soldiers and settlers suffered from endemic diseases and epidemic outbreaks. The colonizers were determined to remake Taiwan into a prosperous and productive place. By doing so, they aimed to provide a salubrious environment for Japanese immigration to the island and to demonstrate that Japan had the capacity to successfully manage a colony on a par with Western powers. Instituting the public-doctor system was part of the Japanese effort to achieve such goals. Public doctors received governmental subsidies. In return, they were assigned to various works in spe- cific localities, including practicing clinical medicine, providing free or inexpensive medical care to the poor, keeping vital statistics, enforcing quarantines, supervising sanitation of markets and bathhouses, and monitoring waterworks and sewage facilities. In sum, while they were doctors, they also served as police and public officers. Many of them were recruited in Japan, but, as time progressed, a growing number of Taiwanese were appointed as public doctors. Public doctors brought benefit of modern medical science. But they were also part of colonial administra- tion and directly involved in the bodies and behavior of local residents. At the same time, members of local societies contributed significantly to their ability to carry out their tasks. This study illuminates the processes through which colonial power emerged and was diffused into Taiwan’s local communities through medicine. Richard Josepha (University of Sheffield) TheWestern Trade as the Cause of both the Rise and Decline of Guangzhou Garden-making in the 19th Century Key words: East-West relations, Guangzhou gardens, Chinese garden history, Canton trade system, Opium Wars The period of the Canton Trade marks both a major peak and decline in the development of Guangzhou garden-making. The increase in revenue related to the Western trade (originated from Europe and North America) has been an important factor in the development of Guangzhou as a cultural hub during the end of the 18th and beginning of 19th century. After 1759, all Western trade was restricted to Guangzhou and left in the hands of the Hong merchants, inaugurating the so-called “Canton Trade”. As a result the Hong merchants and affiliated families acquired a growing fortune that was partly spent in the construction of splendid gardens. These gardens and adjoining residences were a key element in the Sino-Western relations at the time, and their fate particularly reflects that of the Sino-British dialogue. First this paper will explore relevant extracts of Western descriptions of the famous gardens owned by two major Hong families, the Wu and the Pan. Through their testimony as well as Chinese sources such as export paintings, these landscapes can be reconstituted and their role in the social life of 19th century Guangzhou ascertained. The second phase of this paper will show how the deterioration of the Sino-Western relations had a direct impact on the fortune of garden owners, through the demise of the Canton System after the first Opium War and the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. The subsequent decline of garden making in Guangzhou was witnessed and documented byWestern traders, some using the newmedium of photography. Beyond its significant importance in the history of Chinese gardens, the fate of these Cantonese gardens also constitutes a compelling testimony of Sino-Western relations before and after the Opium Wars. Schumann Matthias (Goethe University Frankfurt) From“the Survival of the Fittest” to“the Protection of Life”: Religious Activism and Animal Protection in Republican China Key words: animal protection, religious activism, Buddhism, social Darwinism, Republican China For the last thirty years, scholarship devoted to the study of the history of animal protection has been a burgeoning field, shedding new light on the actors, ideas and practices involved in the movement since