BUILDING THE NATION THROUGH WOMEN'S HEALTH: MODERN ...

standards or else shut them down. According to the Shanghai Chief Health Inspector’s Office,
these hospitals were probably diverting poor patients from the “ignorant native practitioners” and
so the Shanghai Department of Public Health often admitted them with charity status. A report
from the Shanghai Public Health Commissioner stated that “I suggest it is up to us to encourage
such establishments.” 286 Another letter stated that “our purpose is to eliminate the quacks and
ignorant old-type midwives gradually from the practice and on the other hand to protect the
community.” 287 However, such hospitals were also subject to close scrutiny: “These so-called
hospitals know nothing about the arrangement of a hospital or clinic. They are invariably dirty,
have poor equipment, unsanitary kitchens and latrines.” 288 Regarding the Zung Wei Obstetrical
Hospital in Shanghai, a Sanitary Inspector stated that the hospital was a “serious menace to
women and infants.” The Department of Public Health encouraged and supported these
institutions only as long as they conformed to standard hospital regulations. Of course, we may
attribute many of Shanghai’s peculiarities to its unusual status as a treaty-port city with a French
Concession and an International Settlement. Its public health department – its organization and
its activities – was undoubtedly influenced by the large number of foreigners who lived there. 289
While traditionally a treaty-port city, Guangzhou was displaced by Hong Kong as a major
foreign settlement by the twentieth century, so its public health development took a somewhat
different turn. Guangzhou did not experience the same level of official foreign influence that
there was in Shanghai. In 1934, there were an estimated 410 foreigners in Guangzhou, as
compared to 69,797 foreigners in Shanghai in 1932. 290 However, many of the native Chinese
286 "Complaint Re: Hu Hsi Obstetrical Hospital."
287 Dr. Hou-ki Hu, 193?
288 "Complaint Re: Hu Hsi Obstetrical Hospital."
289 MacPherson, A Wilderness of Marshes.
290 anon., All About Shanghai and Environs: A Standard Guidebook, Historical and Contemporary Facts and
Statistics, Lee, Modern Canton, Appendix 6.
112