鼠疫與香港殖民醫學下的華人女性病患（1841-1900）

Bubonic Plague, Western Medicine, and Women: Female Chinese Patients and Colonial Medicine in Hong Kong (1841-1900)

1894年5月，鼠疫在香港爆發後，殖民政府為了保護自身的安全及利益，被迫處理華人的醫療問題。因此鼠疫成了香港醫療史上的一個重要轉折點，也間接影響了華人婦女的就醫行為。本文探討華人婦女在鼠疫中接觸西方醫學的過程，根據統計，當時華人女性鼠疫患者的死亡率較高於華人男性患者，不過華人女性病患被殖民政府所忽略，殖民者也未積極採取相關措施，幫助婦女接觸她們陌生的西方醫學和男性醫生。政府甚至侵入華人的「家」，在此過程中，殖民者儘管騷擾到華人婦女的生活，也挑戰了她們在家中照顧病患的職責，但仍然沒有注意到華人婦女染上鼠疫的實質意義。不過，在非常時期有些華人願意嘗試不同的治療方式，促使許多華人婦女在這種緊急情況下接觸了西醫。而在殖民政府不重視華人婦女健康的情況下，教會醫院因傳教的緣故，積極地接觸女性病患。教會醫院採取的措施包括了招聘和訓練一批華人女護士，這群香港第一批華人女護士在抗疫中，具有重要的貢獻，特別是幫助華人女性病患接觸西醫。此外，鼠疫爆發期間，華人所主持的東華醫院在政府介入下，開始提供西醫服務，成為華人女性接觸西醫的另外一個重要管道。

In May 1894 when the bubonic plague broke out in Hong Kong, the colonial government was forced to provide health care for the Chinese in order to protect the European community and the trading activities of the colony. The outbreak thus became an important turning point in Hong Kong’s medical history, also influencing female Chinese patients’ healing practices, despite the fact that Western medical science had not discovered an effective treatment for bubonic plague. This article examines different ways female Chinese patients accessed Western medicine during the plague outbreak. According to the official statistics, the mortality rate of female Chinese plague patients was higher than that of their male counterparts. Nonetheless, the colonial government continued to disregard these female patients and refused to actively provide appropriate measures for them to access Western medicine and to approach foreign male doctors. When investigating and cleansing Chinese homes, officials failed to realize the significance of female plague patients even after disturbing the lives of Chinese women and challenging their caretaking roles. On the other hand, when the Chinese in the colony were willing to try various treatment methods during emergencies, some female Chinese patients made contact with Western medicine. While the British colonial government disregarded female Chinese patients, medical missionaries actively approached Chinese women for the sake of evangelism. Missionary hospitals implemented various measures in order to attract female patients, such as recruiting and training Chinese nurses; these nurses made important contributions during the plague outbreak. In addition, the Chinese Tung Wah Hospital was forced to provide Western medicine under government regulation during the outbreak, hence becoming another important venue for Chinese women in the colony to access Western medical treatment.