Jasmine Gulik

With the rise of Evangelicalism and the desire to colonize in Britain, there was an increased effort to bring Western culture to China. One man who worked on bringing Western medicine and science was Benjamin Hobson. He started his first mission right after training as a doctor in London. Through an understanding and respect for the Chinese language and culture, he was able to effectively share his knowledge. This endeavor was helped due to cultural differences; Hobson had knowledge of anatomy through dissections, something that was not acceptable in China. In order to create widespread understanding, he taught medical professionals but also wrote many books in order to further spread his influence. While he is known for his role in making Western science more palatable for Chinese acceptance, he was still limited by his Eurocentric bias.   

Hobson was alive during the Victorian period. This era in British history is known for its strict social guidelines. This effected the way abortion and miscarriage was viewed. Pregnancy and miscarriage was talked about through euphemisms if talked about at all. Due to the increase of Christian morals, the previous notions about abortion were foregone. Before the turn of the century, a fetus did not have a soul until the “quickening”. In 1837, intentional loss of pregnancy was seen as equal in all stages of pregnancy in the eyes of the law. In contrast, Chinese society was more accepting with abortion, but women’s health was still not an open topic. There were similarities between the two cultures in ideas of conception and life. Both cultures at some point in time, believed that life began at conception. The interaction of cultures in this increasingly globalized period highlights the high and lows of humanity and science.