Wu Lien-teh: Pioneer
of Modern Medicine in China
Yiren Qin*
*Black Family Stem Cell Institute,
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,
New York, NY 10029
E-mail: yirenqin@hotmail.com
Wu Lien-teh was born in 1879 on the island of Penang in Malaya (four
days before Einstein). He hailed from Taishan, Guangdong. In 1896, at
the age of 17, Dr. Wu excelled and was awarded the Queen’s Scholarship
by Queen Victoria to study at the University of Cambridge in London.
During his research, he successively studied at St. Mary’s Hospital in
the UK, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the Hygiene Institute
at the University of Halle in Germany, and the Pasteur Institute in
France. He was mentored by Nobel laureates Professor Elie Metchnikoff
and Professor Frederick Gowland Hopkins. Dr. Wu pursued his studies
abroad for seven years, earning a total of five degrees from the
University of Cambridge: Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Arts, Master
of Surgery, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Medicine. He obtained his
doctorate at the young age of 24. He was also the first Chinese person
in the world to be awarded a doctorate from the University of Cambridge.
In 1907, Dr. Wu was invited by Yuan Shikai to return to China and serve
as the Vice President of the Tianjin Military Medical School.
In 1910, after the outbreak of the Great Manchurian Plague, Dr. Wu was
appointed to the critical position of Chief Medical Officer. In less
than four months, he managed to bring this deadly infectious disease,
which had left both the Russians and Japanese helpless and claimed over
60,000 lives, to a complete halt. This extraordinary feat, a
century-defining epidemic, astounded the world and saved millions of
lives. Dr. Wu Lien-teh, who led this epidemic prevention effort, became
renowned worldwide.
Dr. Wu immediately confirmed that the plague was bubonic plague, and the
culprit was the muskrat. Additionally, he boldly speculated that this
plague was not transmitted from rats to humans in the usual way, but
rather from person to person. This was because it spread through the
respiratory tract and presented symptoms such as fever, coughing, and
pulmonary infection. He first introduced the concept of pneumonic
plague. At that time, although there was some understanding of bubonic
plague, it was believed that it was transmitted from rats to humans, and
those who contracted it would not further spread it to others. In other
words, human-to-human transmission was not considered possible.
Therefore, when Kitasato Shibasaburo, a Japanese scientist known as the
”Oriental Pasteur,” who first discovered the plague bacillus in the
world, sent people to dissect thousands of rats in Harbin, they did not
find the plague bacillus and denied that it was bubonic plague. On the
other hand, Gérald Mesny, a well-known French doctor with experience in
combating the plague, believed that it was spread by rats and that
human-to-human transmission was not possible. This is what we now know
as glandular plague. He even claimed that he was more qualified than Dr.
Wu Lien-teh and demanded that Dr. Wu relinquish full authority over
epidemic prevention in Northeast China and let him take sole command.
However, Gérald Mesny did not take proper precautions, directly
contacted patients, and succumbed to the plague in less than three days.
The final outcome told us that Dr. Wu Lien-teh’s speculation and
measures for pulmonary plague were correct. Because of his astounding
achievements, an International Plague Conference, attended by
representatives from Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States,
Russia, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Mexico, and
China, was held in Shenyang. Dr. Wu Lien-teh served as the chairman of
the conference, and the Japanese scientist Kitasato Shibasaburo, who
discovered the plague bacillus, humbly took the position of vice
chairman. This conference was the first international academic
conference ever held in Chinese history. Dr. Wu took full charge, and it
had a profound impact on the development of modern medicine and life
sciences in China.
During the first major outbreak of pulmonary plague in the Three Eastern
Provinces (1910-1911), Dr. Wu Lien-teh harbored the idea of conducting
in-depth research on this highly infectious disease and writing a
dedicated treatise. However, the conditions were not ripe for it that
year. In April 1911, at the International Plague Conference held in
Fengtian, Dr. Wu Lien-teh first proposed the ”pulmonary plague” theory,
which was recognized by experts from various countries in attendance. In
July 1911, Dr. Wu Lien-teh led assistants Chen Sibang and Dr. Cang,
along with Russian experts including Professor Saburov, to form a
Sino-Russian joint inspection team to investigate the prevalence of
plague among tarabagans on the Sino-Russian border. The results of this
investigation were compiled by Dr. Wu Lien-teh into a report titled
”Investigation into the Relationship of Tarabagan (Mongolia Marmot) to
Plague,” which was published in the internationally renowned journal
”The Lancet” (Lancet, 1913, 185, 529).
Dr. Wu Lien-teh remained stationed at the border, successfully
preventing the Shanxi plague of 1918 (which claimed around 16,000 lives)
and the second major outbreak of plague in Northeast China (resulting in
around 9,300 deaths). During his second campaign against the plague, he
did not hold an official position, and therefore, lacked the authority
to mobilize manpower or resources. He wasn’t a high-ranking official and
didn’t have access to funds. What he relied on was his unparalleled
medical skills honed over a decade.
Due to his astonishing achievements, Dr. Wu Lien-teh gained global
renown. The Northeast Anti-epidemic Bureau, established by Dr. Wu,
became the world’s premier institution for researching epidemics. It not
only held an international leading position in disease prevention but
also achieved a world-leading level in scientific research. The
collection of samples from pulmonary plague patients and specimens of
wild rodents was exceptionally comprehensive, making it unique in the
world at that time. The epidemiological data gathered on the prevalence
of plague was unmatched by any other research institution. Therefore,
the Northeast Anti-epidemic Bureau consistently held a leading position
in the world in various aspects of plague, including its prevalence,
monitoring, diagnosis, and animal experiments. Additionally, it made
outstanding contributions to the prevention, control, and treatment of
cholera, also holding a world-leading position in this field. At that
time, many renowned scholars from abroad sought to further their studies
and work under his guidance, including Yonghan Chen from the University
of Cambridge, an Austrian from the University of Vienna named Borlase,
Sibong Chen from the University of Cambridge, Ronald, a Briton from the
University of Edinburgh, Ruiheng Liu, a graduate of Harvard University,
and later the first Chinese dean of Peking Union Medical College, among
others.
While at the Northeast Anti-epidemic Bureau, Dr. Wu Lien-teh conducted
groundbreaking research in the field of bacteriology by designing and
successfully conducting ”Tarabagan Plague Inhalation Experiments”. These
experiments confirmed that the Tarabagan plague could be transmitted
through respiration, marking a significant advancement in the field.
Building on a series of experimental studies, Dr. Wu Lien-teh completed
”A Treatise on Pneumonic Plague” (Geneva: League of Nations, Health
Organization, 1926), a 480-page theoretical monograph on plague. This
work established the theory of ”pneumonic plague” and laid the
foundation for the classification of various types of plague, including
bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague. This treatise
is hailed as a milestone in the theory of plague prevention and control.
The establishment of the theory of pneumonic plague brought
international recognition to its author. As a result, Dr. Wu Lien-teh
was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine in 1935. However, Dr. Wu himself remained indifferent to this
recognition and did not utter a word about it. His children were also
unaware of it. In 2007, the Singapore National Television — Asia News
Television (Channel NewsAsia) planned to produce a three-part
documentary series titled ”Dr. Wu Lien-teh: Plague Fighter,” with Ms.
Wang Li-feng, the Vice President of International News at the channel,
serving as the planner and scriptwriter. During the research process,
they discovered the original documents recommending Dr. Wu Lien-teh as a
Nobel Prize candidate. Dr. Wu’s daughter, Wu Yu-ling, was exceptionally
excited upon learning about this and described the document as being
unveiled for the first time.
In his later years, Liang Qichao commented on Dr. Wu Lien-teh, saying,
”In the past fifty years of scientific endeavors, among the scholars who
could meet the world on equal terms, there is only Dr. Wu Lien-teh!”
Dr. Wu Lien-teh was later referred to by posterity as the ”Triple
Scholar,” signifying the first Chinese to obtain a doctorate from the
University of Cambridge, an imperial medical licentiate personally
conferred by the emperor, and a plague fighter honored by the League of
Nations Health Organization. This was the epitome of an extraordinary
national figure.
Even when summoned by three successive heads of state, Prince Regent of
the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai, and Chiang Kai-shek, to serve as Minister
of Health, Dr. Wu declined. He opted instead for the position of
Director-General of National Ports Quarantine.
Dr. Wu Lien-teh discovered that many epidemics, including cholera and
plague, were entering through the customs. At that time, the quarantine
authority at the ports was in the hands of foreigners. Dr. Wu advocated
for reclaiming control. The foreigners used to say that China had no
scientists, but now when they looked at Dr. Wu Lien-teh, the
internationally renowned plague fighter, they had no choice but to
concede it to China. Dr. Wu Lien-teh personally drafted the country’s
first port quarantine regulations, known as the ”Port Quarantine
Regulations.” This was later hailed as the precursor of independent
quarantine in China.
The first to be reclaimed was the largest quarantine station in the
country - the Shanghai Quarantine Station. Dr. Wu himself took up the
post of director. He gradually regained control over quarantine
authority at various ports. He delved into major ports to oversee and
inspect quarantine work, train quarantine personnel, conduct scientific
research, and enhance medical equipment and transportation. In the seven
years from its establishment to the eve of the Anti-Japanese War, the
management office had set up 20 service stations, quarantine hospitals,
and laboratories at various ports, with over 2,000 beds. This formed a
nationwide network. When infectious diseases spread, quarantine
hospitals in various port cities actively participated in isolating and
treating patients. This was especially significant in areas without
infectious disease hospitals. In just seven years, Dr. Wu elevated
China’s quarantine standards to an international level, making it a
first-class quarantine institution in Southeast Asia. The success of
China’s current port quarantine efforts, in terms of sovereignty,
unified command, and operational capacity, is inseparable from Dr. Wu
Lien-teh’s unwavering and diligent efforts.
Later, he not only prevented two major outbreaks of cholera in Harbin
but also, while overseeing customs quarantine in Shanghai, averted the
largest cholera epidemic in China. Moreover, the death rate from cholera
was much lower in China compared to countries like England, America,
France, and Japan at the time. It can be said that Wu Lien-teh’s
research and prevention efforts against epidemics were of the highest
standard in the world at that time.
As a leading figure in the Chinese medical community, Dr. Wu Lien-teh
collaborated with the Rockefeller Foundation to establish Peking Union
Medical College, which is now known as China Union Medical University.
This institution played a crucial role in training a large number of
medical professionals in China. Dr. Wu was also the first to propose the
creation of the China Medical Association. Alongside Yan Fuqing and
others, he co-founded the association and served as its first and second
president. He initiated the publication of the Chinese Medical Journal
and became its first editor-in-chief.
Dr. Wu personally spearheaded the establishment of the most modern
hospital in China at the time - Beijing Central Hospital, which is now
known as Peking University People’s Hospital. He served as the first
hospital director for four years. In total, Dr. Wu led the establishment
of 20 quarantine stations, hospitals, and research institutes, providing
a total of 2,387 beds. In addition to the Beijing Central Hospital,
other significant establishments included epidemic hospitals set up in
various parts of Northeast China in 1912, the Northeast Army Hospital,
commissioned by Zhang Zuolin, which was the largest in the country at
the time, and quarantine hospitals established at various ports under
the management of the National Quarantine Service after 1930. In 1926,
he also founded the Binjiang Medical Specialized School, which was later
renamed Harbin Medical University in 1938.
Furthermore, after graduating from the University of Cambridge, Dr. Wu
Lien-teh consistently stood at the forefront of the anti-drug movement.
Whether in his birthplace of Malaysia and Singapore, or in China, the
United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries, he staunchly
advocated for drug prohibition. He can be considered a pioneer of modern
drug prohibition. In this endeavor, he invested a significant amount of
effort and dedication, determined to eradicate drugs from the countries
he visited. However, despite his utmost efforts during his lifetime, the
proliferation of drugs remained a matter of great regret and frustration
for him.
Dr. Wu Lien-teh, together with Wang Ji-min, co-authored a book in
English titled ”History of Chinese Medicine.” This book broke through
the ethnic biases of Western scholars, allowing people to witness the
glorious era of Chinese medicine. It filled the gap in which Chinese
scholars had not previously introduced the history of Chinese medicine
to the world in English. The book objectively presents the development
of medicine in China, thus advancing the study of Chinese medical
history. As a pioneering work, it has had a significant impact on the
international history of medicine and is still considered a reference
book in the field. Especially with regards to the development of modern
medicine in China, including primary source materials on the research of
plague and cholera conducted by the Northeast Anti-Epidemic Plague
Bureau, as well as a wealth of data from the port quarantine, it has
become essential reading for future generations studying the history of
modern medicine in China. Due to this contribution, Dr. Wu was appointed
as a Corresponding Fellow of the International Academy of the History of
Science, and to this day, there are fewer than ten Chinese individuals
who hold this title in the International Academy of the History of
Science.
The methods of isolation, disinfection, and wearing masks that are
currently employed during epidemic outbreaks all draw from the
strategies used by Dr. Wu Lien-teh to combat the Great Epidemic of
Northeast China. It’s also worth noting that the rotating dining table
we use today was invented by Dr. Wu Lien-teh. His contributions have had
a lasting impact on public health practices worldwide.
Before Dr. Wu Lien-teh passed away, he wrote his autobiography in
English, titled ”Plague Fighter: The Autobiography of a Modern Chinese
Physician.” It was published by Cambridge University Press and gained
worldwide renown. His autobiography can be found in major libraries in
the United States and the United Kingdom, but curiously, not in major
libraries in China. It’s worth noting that all of Dr. Wu Lien-teh’s
research and work took place on Chinese soil. Over the course of 30
years, from the age of 28 to 58, he devoted the best years of his life
to China, benefiting the Chinese people. When I introduce Dr. Wu
Lien-teh to people, most of them say, ”Is Dr. Wu Lien-teh Chinese, or is
he a Chinese expatriate? There are so many Chinese expatriates like him,
such as Yang Zhenning, Ding Zhongxing, and even more recently, Nobel
laureate Qian Yongjian, etc.” (I posted many students’ replies on DXY).
I feel deeply saddened when I hear such remarks, because Dr. Wu Lien-teh
is so internationally renowned. In his autobiography published by
Cambridge, he clearly states that he is a Chinese. The title of his book
is ”Plague Fighter: The Autobiography of a Modern Chinese Physician.”
Yet, we have revoked Dr. Wu Lien-teh’s Chinese citizenship. I believe
that today’s university and graduate students, in addition to mastering
their professional knowledge, really need to enhance their humanistic
cultivation. Many outstanding students aspire to go abroad and hope that
the country will invest in them, but they may not think about what they
can contribute to our beloved motherland and the hardworking Chinese
people. Of course, Yang Zhenning, Ding Zhongxing, Qian Yongjian, and
others are all very great, but what sets Dr. Wu Lien-teh apart from them
is that he dedicated all his contributions to us Chinese people, truly
benefiting the Chinese people. The person the Chinese people truly
appreciate is Dr. Wu Lien-teh. Without Dr. Wu Lien-teh’s efforts to take
control of the ports in Northeast China and stop the rat-borne plague
that could have devastated the land of China, we really don’t know what
China would be like now. Just look at the current global panic caused by
the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico. We can see that the truly
frightening thing in today’s world is a major epidemic. Dr. Wu Lien-teh
was an international authority in this field. In an era without
antibiotics, when people had little understanding of modern medical
knowledge, Dr. Wu Lien-teh not only eradicated the Great Epidemic of
Northeast China, which claimed the lives of nearly 60,000 Chinese
people, in less than four months, but he also effectively prevented
major cholera outbreaks multiple times. I believe Dr. Wu Lien-teh’s
contributions to the Chinese people are truly immense. It’s a great pity
that very few Chinese people know his name, including fellow medical
professionals and students who work in the same field as Dr. Wu. Every
time I think about this, my emotions are truly hard to calm.
On January 21, 1960, at No. 39 Lorong Kinta, Penang, a humble yet
extraordinary retired physician passed away. Dr. Wu Lien-teh, aged 81,
departed with serenity and composure. Very few of the people in the
homeland he once served knew of him. Despite his strong confidence in
New China and his early decision to donate his residence in Beijing to
the nation for use by the Chinese Medical Association, he chose to live
out his days as a simple physician, foregoing the accolades he
rightfully deserved.
In 1983, in the ”Dictionary of Epidemiology” edited by the renowned
epidemiologist Last, the only Chinese name mentioned is Wu Lien-teh.
Today, Wu Lien-teh does not live on in the hearts of us Chinese. Very
few people know who he is, and those who do have only a vague knowledge
about him.
“The Old China, to which the author had devoted the best part of his
life, from the later days of the Manchu Dynasty through the formative
years of the Chinese Republic until the collapse of the Kuomintang
regime, is still fresh in the minds of many, and it is hoped that the
ascendency of the new Chines People’s Government may result in the
continued happiness and prospersity of that great country, which in the
course of its 4000-5000 years of history has seen so many
triumphs and vicissitudes before achieving its present status in this
everchanging world.”
Wu Lien-Teh