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

authority that had previously been held by the elder generations. These policies were accepted
because many modernizers believed that China needed a strong state to survive. 182 This control
was best accomplished through science and law. Public health programs, including modern
midwifery, aimed to improve the people’s health through science. Midwives and other medical
personnel were regulated, and they were also needed to document (and thus control) the people’s
lives through statistics collection and research investigations. The birth process was overseen by
the newly trained and registered midwives, who in turn collected statistics about the health and
socioeconomic conditions of the mothers and infants. The goal was to institutionalize childbirth
as part of a broader effort at family reform that included encouraging small nuclear families. 183
The Chinese government, with the backing of Western medical institutions, also
supported and controlled women medical professionals, including promoting medical training for
women as part of nation-strengthening efforts. The medical profession, especially the fields of
midwifery, nursing, and obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN), was a way for Chinese women to
enter into the nationalist discussion and help to strengthen China. In fact, Westerners and
Chinese alike encouraged Chinese women to study medicine in order to serve female patients
who traditionally could not be examined by men. 184 One of China’s most famous reformers,
Liang Qichao (1873-1929), was especially vocal about the importance of female education.
Most of his writings focus on the necessity of educated and healthy women as good mothers, and
he wrote an article praising physicians Ida Kahn and Shi Meiyu as examples of the promise of
women’s intelligence and dedication to the nation. 185 He also advocated prenatal care in order to
182
Glosser, Chinese Visions of Family and State, 1915-1953.
183
Ibid.
184
Bullock, An American Transplant, Yip, Health and National Reconstruction.
185
Liang Qichao, “Ji Jiangxi Kang nushi” (On Miss Kang of Jiangxi). Yinbingshi wenji (Essays from the Ice-
Drinker’s Studio), vol. 1, no. 1. Reprint. Shanghai: Zhonghua shuji, quoted in Weili Ye, "‘Nü Liuxuesheng' The
Story of American-Educated Chinese Women, 1880s-1920s." Modern China 20:3 (July 1994): 315-46, 320-21.
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