Qing Imperial Physician Li Jun’s Lens: Chinese Medicine in Late 19th-century Penang

Abstract Amidst the late 19th-century influx of Chinese laborers into the Straits Settlements, few scholar-physicians engaged in transnational medical discourse, making Qing Imperial physician Li Jun (力钧) a remarkable exception. A distinguished Confucian physician, Li Jun traveled to Singapore and Penang in the 1890s, meticulously documenting his unique observations in his book, Bin Lang Yu Zhi Lue (《槟榔屿志略》 The Monograph on Penang ). This paper explores Li Jun’s narratives and critiques of Chinese medicine in Penang, analyzing them through the lens of his elite background and the socio-historical context of the time. By contextualizing his account within the era’s healthcare landscape, migration patterns, and colonial dynamics, the paper assesses his views on the role, practitioners, perceived strengths, and limitations of Chinese medicine as practiced overseas. Li Jun’s insightful perspective reveals complexities in the adaptation and provision of Chinese healthcare within the diaspora, highlighting its historical challenges and illuminating the interplay between medical traditions and the colonial environment at the time.