Prescribing Colonization: The Role of Medical Practices and Policies in Japan-Ruled Taiwan, 1895â "1945 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780924304576)

An essential book for scholars of East Asian history, Prescribing Colonization addresses the impact of Western-influenced Japanese medicine on medical practices in Taiwan during Japanese colonial rule and examines the role colonial medicine played in Japanese empire building.Taiwan was Japan's first overseas colony and the Japanese government was eager to transform the island into a showpiece "model colony." Despite the colonial government's intentions to encourage immigration, the unsanitary conditions, severe epidemics, and social unrest in Taiwan often derailed their efforts. The Japanese government believed that Taiwan required an infusion of fundamental medical knowledge from "modern" Japan. "Medicine" and "civilization" were two of the main themes used repeatedly to persuade the indigenous population to accept colonization. Written as part of a new wave of scholarship on colonial medicine, science, and technology that has emerged in the past decade, Michael Liu clearly explains the complex relationship between merciful modernization, brutal colonization, and the expansion of the global discourse on modern medicine.

Author: Michael Shiyung Liu
ISBN-10: 092430457X
ISBN-13: 9780924304576
Publisher: Association for Asian Studies
Language: English
Published: 12/01/2009
Pages: 296
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.67d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2010
Reference and Research Bk News 05/01/2010 pg. 282