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Taiwan in the Eyes of a Western Traveler--John Thomson’s Footprints in Formosa

Publication date: 2013
Author: Li Pin-huei |Staff member of the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

John Thomson(1837-1921)is regarded as a pioneering photographer in the 19th century. He traveled to Far East, documenting the portraits, landscapes and eastern cultures profoundly through his lens and these photographs have become precious historical records. Although John Thomson only stayed in Taiwan for a few days, the images and notes he left are valuable historical materials for the research into Taiwan in the 1870s.His story could be comparable to Shen Bao-zhen, one of the figures in 「Traveling in Time」Exhibition. They were the travelers who came to Taiwan in the same time period. Through their stories, we can learn how they interpret Formosa in the 19th century.
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V. Conclusion

Establishment of modern medical education during the Japanese colonial period transformed health knowledge and the public doctor system in Taiwan. Doctors who received Western medical education replaced those practicing traditional Chinese medicine, and became the people’s first choice when they needed treatment. Furthermore, many doctors became leaders in their communities because of their high social status.

As a noted medical training institution, there is no doubt that many brilliant students in Taiwan aim to study at the School of Medicine of National Taiwan University. The establishment of modern medicine presents an approach of modernization in Taiwan. Moreover, every doctor’s life story is intimately tied to the island. The Wu Xin-rong Papers, Guo Qiu-cai Papers, Liu Chuan-lai Papers, Ye Sheng-ji Papers, Chen Zhong-tong Papers, Records of Manchuria Medical University, and the yearbook of Taihoku Medical College collected in the Education Records are first hand records on Taiwanese doctors’ life stories. In addition, these records are witness to the history of medical and social developments in Taiwan.


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