Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese
Encyclopedia
The Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (Chinese: 香港華人西醫書院) was the first college in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 to fully adopt and accept Western medical science practices. It was established in 1887, and was considered a break through in opening up western medical research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...

 to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

.

History

The College was the predecessor of the Medical Faculty of the University of Hong Kong. The London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...

 founded the establishment. Important initiatives were led by notable members like Dr Patrick Manson
Patrick Manson
Sir Patrick Manson was a Scottish physician who made important discoveries in parasitology and was the founder of the tropical medicine field....

, an experienced medical practitioner who made his fame in the realm of tropical medicine. Having served in the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs as a medical officer for 18 years, he took up private practice in Hong Kong from 1883 to 1889. Sir Kai Ho Kai
Kai Ho
Sir Kai Ho Kai, CMG, JP, MRCS , , born Ho Shan-kai , was a Hong Kong Chinese barrister, physician and essayist in Colonial Hong Kong. He played a key role in the relationship between the Hong Kong Chinese community and the British colonial government. He is mostly remembered as one of the main...

 was also a member of the Chinese elite in Colonial Hong Kong
Colonial Hong Kong
In the 19th century the British, Dutch, French, Indians and Americans saw Imperial China as the world's largest untapped market. In 1840 the British Empire launched their first and one of the most aggressive expeditionary forces to claim the territory that would later be known as Hong Kong.In a few...

. He played a major role in convincing the Chinese population that western medicine was acceptable and a new alternative in a culture that have largely been dominated by traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...

.

In 1907 the school was renamed to Hong Kong College of Medicine. In 1908 it was authorized to sign death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...

s. The nucleus of the school would later create the foundation for the new and renamed Hong Kong University in 1910. The Chinese society at the time was not quite ready for western medicine at the time. As a result, many of the medical graduates were actually unemployed.

See also

  • University of Hong Kong
  • Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
    Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
    The Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong is the older of the two medical schools in Hong Kong , and is among the oldest in the Far East.-History:...

  • Li Ying College
    Li Ying College
    Li-Ying College was one of the first schools established in Imperial Hong Kong. It was founded circa 1075 AD during the Song Dynasty. -History:...

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