{"title":"Malaria in China: a discourse-historical perspective.","authors":"Peng Miao","doi":"10.3389/fmed.2025.1590518","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The translation, transmission, and re-conceptualization of malaria in late Qing and Republican China exemplifies how knowledge on an ancient disease is reshaped through linguistic and cultural mediation. This article analyzes diverse textual medical sources, namely English-Chinese dictionaries (1830s-1900s) and vernacular newspapers and periodicals, to trace and observe the lexical journey of \"ague\" and \"malaria\" into the Chinese domain as \"nueji\" (/) and \"zhangqi\" (/). Three phases of conceptual transfer are identified: first, early missionary dictionaries (1822-1860s) prioritized symptom-based translations (e.g., faleng /, chills); second, the 1870s-1920s witnessed terminological competition between nueji and zhangqi, reflecting clashes between traditional Chinese etiology and western theories; third, by the 1930s-1940s, nueji became dominant through institutional standardization, while western parasitological frameworks were selectively assimilated, as \"<i>Plasmodium</i>\" was lexicalized as \"nueyuanchong\" (/), yet the mechanism of \"immunity\" remained unexplained in Chinese medical discourse. This process was formed by intra-medical debates: while western-trained practitioners weaponized microscopy to validate <i>Plasmodium</i> as a pathogen, traditional healers reframed it through local cosmology. Newspaper and periodicals served as contested epistemic spaces, where terms like \"weichong\" (/) and \"jishengchong\" (/) mirrored public struggles to reconcile western knowledge with local beliefs. This article demonstrates that disease introduction transcends lexical substitution, acting as a battlefield for different medical discourses in China's medical modernization.</p>","PeriodicalId":12488,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Medicine","volume":"12 ","pages":"1590518"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12263640/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1590518","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The translation, transmission, and re-conceptualization of malaria in late Qing and Republican China exemplifies how knowledge on an ancient disease is reshaped through linguistic and cultural mediation. This article analyzes diverse textual medical sources, namely English-Chinese dictionaries (1830s-1900s) and vernacular newspapers and periodicals, to trace and observe the lexical journey of "ague" and "malaria" into the Chinese domain as "nueji" (/) and "zhangqi" (/). Three phases of conceptual transfer are identified: first, early missionary dictionaries (1822-1860s) prioritized symptom-based translations (e.g., faleng /, chills); second, the 1870s-1920s witnessed terminological competition between nueji and zhangqi, reflecting clashes between traditional Chinese etiology and western theories; third, by the 1930s-1940s, nueji became dominant through institutional standardization, while western parasitological frameworks were selectively assimilated, as "Plasmodium" was lexicalized as "nueyuanchong" (/), yet the mechanism of "immunity" remained unexplained in Chinese medical discourse. This process was formed by intra-medical debates: while western-trained practitioners weaponized microscopy to validate Plasmodium as a pathogen, traditional healers reframed it through local cosmology. Newspaper and periodicals served as contested epistemic spaces, where terms like "weichong" (/) and "jishengchong" (/) mirrored public struggles to reconcile western knowledge with local beliefs. This article demonstrates that disease introduction transcends lexical substitution, acting as a battlefield for different medical discourses in China's medical modernization.
期刊介绍:
Frontiers in Medicine publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research linking basic research to clinical practice and patient care, as well as translating scientific advances into new therapies and diagnostic tools. Led by an outstanding Editorial Board of international experts, this multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide.
In addition to papers that provide a link between basic research and clinical practice, a particular emphasis is given to studies that are directly relevant to patient care. In this spirit, the journal publishes the latest research results and medical knowledge that facilitate the translation of scientific advances into new therapies or diagnostic tools. The full listing of the Specialty Sections represented by Frontiers in Medicine is as listed below. As well as the established medical disciplines, Frontiers in Medicine is launching new sections that together will facilitate
- the use of patient-reported outcomes under real world conditions
- the exploitation of big data and the use of novel information and communication tools in the assessment of new medicines
- the scientific bases for guidelines and decisions from regulatory authorities
- access to medicinal products and medical devices worldwide
- addressing the grand health challenges around the world