疫病與國家主權: 以1910年東北鼠疫為研究個案

1910年中國滿洲里爆發肺鼠疫，肺鼠疫沿南滿鐵路、中東鐵路迅速蔓延東北地區。 控制鼠疫蔓延原本是中國內政事務，但因日本和俄國對中國東北地區虎視眈眈，保護其 國家僑民成爲兩國干預中國在東北主權的最佳藉口。中國爲了向國際宣示其在東北的主 權，改變過往被動的防疫態度，主動籌劃並執行西方的防疫措施，藉以展示中國是有能 力控制疫病。其後中國舉辦奉天國際鼠疫會議，邀請各國的醫學專家商討日後對疫病的 控制，從而進一步加強中國在國際醫學界的地位。本文以1910年東北鼠疫爲研究個 案，探討（1）近代中國城市的發展如何促成疫病的傳播；（2）東北鼠疫控制與國家主 權的關係；（3）中國又如何透過東北鼠疫提升其在國際的地位。

In 1910, a plague broke out in Manchuli. Quickly, the plague spread throughout the area with the assistance of the mass transportation system, following the direction of the Eastern Railway and the South Manchurian Railway. Plague prevention measures were then enforced, not by the Chinese government, but rather, by the Japanese and Russians, who took to applying anti-epidemic measures that went beyond their designated boundaries. For the first time, the enforcement of plague prevention measures had gone of Chinese hands; more importantly, the foreign powers took advantage of the situation to meddle into Chinese waters, encroaching upon Chinese-controlled areas, shadowed by the assertive excuse that such actions were done to protect their own peoples. In order to preserve the sovereignty of China in Manchuria, the Chinese altered anti-plague policies, appointing instead, a Chinese Western medical expert in charge of the anti-plague measures and applying Western hygiene conception to isolate the plague-stricken. After the elapse of the plague, China organized an International Plague Conference in Fengtian and invited international experts to participate. The purpose of this conference was not only aimed at searching for a prevention method against the plague, but it was also to promote the status of China in field of medicine. This article takes 1910 Manchurian Plague as a case study, to examine first, how the development of the city affected the rapid speed of how the plague spread; second, the relationship between the enforcement of anti-plague measures and sovereignty; and third, how the plague become an important issue for the promotion of the medical status of China.