The great Manchurian plague of 1910-1911: the geopolitics of an epidemic disease

217 Pages·2012·2.561 MB·English

by  William C. Summers

THE GREAT MANCHURIAN PLAGUE OF 1910–1911
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The Great Manchurian
Plague of 1910–1911
The Geopolitics of an
Epidemic Disease
WILLIAM C. SUMMERS
New Haven and London
Copyright © 2012 by Yale University.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Summers, William C.
The great Manchurian plague of 1910–1911 : the geopolitics of an epidemic
disease / William C. Summers.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 0- 300- 18319-1 (alk. paper)
I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Epidemics—history—China. 2. Epidemics—history—Russia.
3. Plague—history—China. 4. Plague—history—Russia. 5. Epidemics—
prevention & control—China. 6. Epidemics—prevention & control—Russia.
7. History, 20th Century—China. 8. History, 20th Century—Russia.
9. International Cooperation—history—China. 10. International
Cooperation—history—Russia. 11. Politics—China. 12. Politics—Russia.
WC 355]
614.4′951—dc23(cid:14)(cid:14)2012015899
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of
Paper).
10(cid:14)9(cid:14)8(cid:14)7(cid:14)6(cid:14)5(cid:14)4(cid:14)3(cid:14)2(cid:14)1
publication of this book is enabled by a grant from
Figure Foundation
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Note on Romanization of Chinese Words xiii
ONE. Plague Comes to Manchuria 1
TWO. The Manchurian Question 26
THREE. The Plague 51
FOUR. The International Plague Conference
and Its Aftermath 80
FIVE. The Plague’s Origin: Disease Ecology 107
SIX. Plague and Politics 130
Epilogue: A Century Later 153
Appendix: Place Names in Manchuria 163
Notes 165
Glossary 189
Index 193
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Preface
The historian sees disease, especially epidemic disease, as a per-
turbing agent that can lead to better understanding of a particular
period, culture, or social structure. We can understand different
cultures and historical events by the ways nations and peoples re-
spond to, and deal with, epidemic diseases.
Although much has been said about the Manchurian plague
of 1910–1911, it remains a fruitful context to consider briefly three
main features: a contextualized account of the origins and spread
of plague in one of the last major episodes of the third global
pandemic; the uses to which medical science put the plague; and
the role of the plague in the geopolitics of the period. My goal
has been to examine in some detail, but over a relatively short
time span, the context of what became the “Manchurian Ques-
tion,” the impact and responses to the plague in specific settings
in Manchuria that represent competing national interests and
approaches. In particular I focus on the special role of medical
knowledge in the immediate period just after the development of
germ theories of disease and the discovery of the plague bacillus.
The ecology of disease is a current concept that provides my
ix