清末における「衞生」概念の展開

Abstract

In studies of the modern history of Chinese sanitation, the evolution and the differences of the implications of the concept of weisheng 衛生 in history are an issue that has raised a certain degree of concern but has not yet been clarified. This study attempts to make a clear explanation of the concept of weisheng in the later period of the Qing dynasty based on the literature and previous studies of hygiene. This study argues that in East Asia, even though the concept of eisei 衛生 first appeared in Japan, the word weisheng, written 卫生 in modern Chinese, cannot simply be regarded as a loan word from Japanese. In fact, the concept formed gradually and naturally under the force of various factors, such as the entrance of western knowledge about sanitation, the import of the term eisei and sanitation systems from Japan, and the re-interpretation and application of traditions by Chinese intellectuals. These changes in the concept had begun in the earlier Guangxu era. In the period before 1894, in certain specific contexts, the concept weisheng had almost completely encompassed the connotations that it would have in modern times. However, it did not have conspicuous influence, remaining basically an undercurrent. After the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, with the increase of Japanese influence on China and the gradual positive changes in Chinese society's attitudes toward matters of modern sanitation, the undercurrent of change in the concept weisheng began to come to the surface. The concept of weisheng in the modern sense started to appear more and more frequently in Chinese literature. The establishment of the national sanitation administrative institution in 1905 further advanced the process in which weisheng became the standard social term that implied protecting public health and preventing disease. One could say that the modern concept of weisheng had already been established both in terms of its connotations and popularity, as well as the manner it was used by the end of the Qing dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. However, this was an evolutionary process that was completed gradually and naturally with new knowledge becoming embedded in the foundation of tradition. Traditional ideas about sanitation remained intact; therefore the implications of the concept of weisheng were mixed and varied after the late Qing. In conclusion, this study also discusses briefly how the concept weisheng came into prominence and finally become the standard term in the modern sense.