ABSTRACT
The medical missionary movement in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries played a role in the progress of modern Sino-Western relations. In addition to Christian converts, medical missionaries believed that the key to China's regeneration was spiritual salvation through Christianity. The establishment of Canton Hospital, an institution for the care of the sick and the first modern hospital in China, was the decisive step in the spread of medical missions. American doctors challenged Confucianism's bias against women when removing obstacles to treatment of Chinese women in public places. American doctors advocated Christian benevolence and encouraged the Chinese to found modern charitable institutions along Christian lines. To adjust themselves to Cantonese society, American doctors were interested in Sino-Western medical integration and were motivated to study Chinese medicine at the Canton Hospital. They also tried to adopt some Chinese remedial methods in the treatment of patients so as to make Western medicine more efficient.
