Introduction
Dr. Shu-chi Chuang (1920–2015), the first licensed female practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Taiwan, was born during the period of Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule to Guanghe Hall, an influential family involved in TCM for generations. After passing the national TCM examination in 1950, she practiced at her father’s pharmacy where she became renowned as “Madam Doctor.” Chuang traveled to Japan in 1954 to pursue her studies and earned her doctorate in medicine from Keio University in 1961. Integrating principles of both Chinese and Western medicine, she dedicated herself to researching and promoting TCM and natural health practices, with emphasis on wellness and cancer prevention, thereby situating herself as an important figure in medical and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.
This fonds of Shi-chi Chuang’s research materials and personal documents, totaling more than two hundred boxes, were donated to the Archives by family member Dr. Ching-fen Chuang in 2018. Contents largely include manuscripts, correspondences, research notes, medical records, photographs, and various other audiovisual materials, with drafts of oral interviews conducted prior to the official publication of Memoirs of Shi-chi Chuang (in Chinese), co-authored by Adjunct Research Fellow Hsueh-chi Hsu of the Institute of Taiwan History—among others—being of notable interest. This fonds thus touches upon the history of modern medicine, health, and health in Taiwan, gender history, cultural exchanges between Taiwan, China, and Japan, and developments in twentieth-century medicine and culture, to name just a few topics.
This fonds of Shi-chi Chuang’s research materials and personal documents, totaling more than two hundred boxes, were donated to the Archives by family member Dr. Ching-fen Chuang in 2018. Contents largely include manuscripts, correspondences, research notes, medical records, photographs, and various other audiovisual materials, with drafts of oral interviews conducted prior to the official publication of Memoirs of Shi-chi Chuang (in Chinese), co-authored by Adjunct Research Fellow Hsueh-chi Hsu of the Institute of Taiwan History—among others—being of notable interest. This fonds thus touches upon the history of modern medicine, health, and health in Taiwan, gender history, cultural exchanges between Taiwan, China, and Japan, and developments in twentieth-century medicine and culture, to name just a few topics.