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

indeed must not, focus merely on their particularistic interests [such as controlling plague].
Instead, they should demonstrate the spirit of public morals by involving themselves in the
affairs of the public arena for the good of the collective” [italics in original]. 139
EARLY GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION
Western medicine gained more credence after the 1911 Revolution. It is estimated that by 1920
native Chinese provided more than half of mission hospitals’ operating costs, “and that no less
than 27 percent of the hospitals are now entirely self-supporting, apart from the salaries of the
foreign staff.” 140 According to Balme, a “hopeful sign of the times is the way in which the
Chinese people are extending financial support towards the hospitals and medical schools which
have been organized in their country. Ever since the day when How Qua, the landlord of the
building in which Parker had his first hospital, refused to accept any rent, the Chinese have
repeatedly given proofs [sic] of their appreciation of such forms of medical charity, and of their
willingness to share in the financial support of these institutions.” 141
Many reformers who had been purged or suppressed during Cixi’s reign were now free to
advocate and establish modernization programs. The national government was unstable and no
lasting health reforms were established; however, some local officials and warlords supported
Western medical training. As shown above, the local Health Officer in Nanjing supported a
midwife training school in 1914. In addition, Shemo found that in the 1910s and 1920s the
Nanchang government regularly supported Kang Cheng’s hospital. Although China was ruled
by a succession of military governors in the early twentieth century, some were dedicated to
139 Tsin, Nation, Governance, and Modernity, 31.
140 Balme, China and Modern Medicine, 187-88.
141 Ibid.
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