Chinese translation of English textbooks on internal medicine from the 1850s to the 1940s.

During the 100 years from 1850 to 1949, six English textbooks on internal medicine were translated into Chinese and published. Publication of these books was a response to the increased demand for Chinese textbooks after the opening of several Western-style hospitals and medical schools in China where the instruction was in Chinese. Throughout this period, textbooks translated from English were regarded as symbols of mainstream and authority within medical communities in China. There was a shift of translators from British and American medical missionaries to Chinese medical elites. Publishers also changed from missionary hospitals or missionary organizations to the Chinese Medical Association, which was led by ethnic Chinese. After the 1950s, translation activity continued in Taiwan, but it was halted in China until after the Cultural Revolution. This paper provides bibliographic information about these books. The transition of medical authority in China during this 100-year period is also reviewed through the successive publication of translated textbooks on internal medicine.