Title
Cholera, public health, and the politics of water in Republican Guangzhou
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Modern Asian Studies
Publication Date
3-1-2013
Volume
47
Issue
2
First Page
436
Last Page
466
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Abstract
Along with the establishment of the Department of Public Health in 1912, the implementation of public health policies became an integral part of city management in Republican Guangzhou. Yet the cholera outbreak of 1932 fully exposed the weaknesses of the medical and sanitary infrastructure of the city. Due to the Guangzhou government's inaction, the Fangbian Hospital, a local charitable hall founded in response to the bubonic plague of the 1890s, involuntarily took over the major responsibility for providing medical services for cholera patients in the early stage of the epidemic. Only after the death of hundreds of patients and Guangzhou being described as a ‘world of horror’ in the local press did the government-run hospital start to take a more active role. Epidemics have always served as catalysts for change in public health perceptions and practices. This paper attempts to explain how the cholera epidemic of 1932 changed the role of public health in the urban administration of the city. Emphasis is placed on analysing how the people of Guangzhou began to fight for a supply of clean drinking water once they came to realize the link between water and the spread of the fatal cholera epidemic in 1932. Clean water, which used to be seen as a commodity enjoyed by the privileged few, was now increasingly regarded as a citizen's right.
DOI
10.1017/S0026749X12000480
Print ISSN
0026749X
E-ISSN
14698099
Funding Information
This research (CUHK 4572/06H) have financial support from Hong Kong Research Grant Council.
Publisher Statement
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Poon, S. W. (2013). Cholera, public health, and the politics of water in Republican Guangzhou. Modern Asian Studies, 47(2), 436-466. doi: 10.1017/S0026749X12000480
