Cultivating China's Cinchona: The Local Developmental State, Global Botanic Networks and Cinchona Cultivation in Yunnan, 1930s–1940s. (23rd October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shen, Yubin
• Is Part Of: Social history of medicine. Volume 34:Number 2(2021)
• Page Start: 577
• Page End: 591
• Publication Date: 2019-10-23
• Subjects: cinchona cultivation -- the developmental state -- global networks -- Yunnan; Medicine -- History -- Periodicals; Social medicine -- History -- Periodicals; Medicine; Social medicine; History; Periodicals; Periodicals; 362.109
• DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkz099
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0951-631X

Abstract

Summary: This article reconstructs the history of China's first successful cinchona cultivation programme in Hekou, Yunnan province from the 1930s to 1940s during the Nationalist era (1928–49). I argue that the Hekou programme was initiated by the Yunnan 'local developmental state' to control endemic malaria and achieve quinine self-sufficiency. It was expanded during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) as part of the national defence project in order to develop Yunnan's malaria-ridden southwest frontier to provide more resources for the war, as well as to solve broader wartime epidemic crises in southwest China. A closer examination also indicates that the development of the Hekou programme was closely intertwined with global networks of cinchona cultivation and international politics.