Group #6 | 2LIT2

September 17, 2016

There was an intersection of many cultures and societies at the practice of Vietnamese
medicine. There would be interactions coming from Chinese, Vietnamese and Western medicines;
it borrowed heavily from Chinese medicine, but more often it still turned to pharmacopeia and
plant-remedies than to their northern neighbors. In addition, it also has been influenced by Western
medicine in the early nineteenth century.
1. Herb Boat (1800s)
During the 1800s, the Chinese herb boat, also called the ship grinder, ship mill, sow-and-pig
mill, or go-devil, has been imported to England and the Americas. This instrument made use of
the technology of mano and metate in the pulverization of the herbs. It is a boat-shaped wood base,
has bootjack legs for stability, with a cast iron wheel pierced by a pair of wood handles. Leaning
forward and rolling the wheel back and forth was the mechanic in using the instrument for the user
to be able to reduce the stems, roots, and leaves to fragments promptly. This medical herb slicer
has helped reduce ingredients into powder and cut dried herbs into slice-bars. This slicer has been
passed along from generation to generation, and some are still in use today especially in families
who are engaged in traditional medicine, and can be viewed in traditional medicine stores
throughout Vietnam.
2. Wine Jar (1800s)
Back in the ancient times, soaking medical herbs in wine has been a method of herbal
processing. The wine jar was used to contain tonic wine which served as medicine for the
Vietnamese. The wine jar was used to contain tonic wine. Wine, in context of Oriental medicine,
served as a nourishment, activating and regulating blood. In addition, it activates channel and
vessels to deliver the medicine or herbs. People chose wine, which is a composition of rice, maize,
potatoes, and even other ingredients. In Vietnam, some villages have become known for their
production of such wine. In the old days, the wine jar was often buried under the ground and
remained underneath for hundred days then taken up for use. Some people liked to use ceramic
pots instead to contain medicated wine. Usually, the jars have handles on either side to be put down
and be taken up easily.
3. Royal Medicine Service (1805)

Nguyn Phc nh, better known by his reign title Gia Long, reigned as the first emperor
Nguyn Dynasty of Vietnam. His interest in medicine had caused him to establish, a royal
medicine service with a precise hierarchy for its personnel in the year 1805. In 1809, he made
medical and veterinary services available in the provinces. He and the other members of the royal
family, sponsored the construction and staffing of hospices in Hu and the provincial capitals.
4. Tribute Missions To China (1805)
The emperor Gia Long also began to send regular tribute missions to China, and encouraged
diplomatic personnel to acquire Chinese books on medicine, and other sciences, and bring them to
Hu. The circulation of such books served an important function within the diplomatic system of
the East Asian word in the nineteenth century. Moreover, he ordered Dr. Jean Marie Despiau, who
was one of Europeans to move to Vietnam to serve in the emperors forces, to seek training in
performing smallpox vaccination and in conserving and propagating vaccinia-smallpox vaccine.
He also instructed the doctor to bring back a supply of the vaccine to vaccinate his emperor's
children. The doctor prepared quickly and embarked on a Chinese vessel that set sail on 14 July
1820. In addition, according to Trinh Hoai Duc, in the 1820s Chinese businesses thronged the
streets in Saigon selling goods like satin, silk, porcelain, paper, pearls, books, medicines, tea, and
food.
5. Smallpox Vaccine (1820)
On 13 July 1820 Dr. Jean Marie Despiau, a French physician who served as a member of
the Royal Medical Service at the Court of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam, received orders from
emperor Minh Mang to travel from the imperial court at Hu to the Portuguese enclave of Macao
on the southern coast of China. In 1820, smallpox vaccine was a fragile live virus vaccine and
refrigeration and other modern methods of conserving were unknown. At the time, the early proven
method of transport involved using children as live carriers. This involved arm-to-arm
vaccination, harvesting the resulting vaccine for the reason that keeping a reserve of non-immune
children to produce more vaccine was quite sophisticated because the arm-to-arm method of
transporting vaccine was highly time-sensitive and fraught with difficulties. However, Dr. Despiau
surmounted these and other potential obstacles, and was able to come back to Hu in February
1821, where he immediately vaccinated several the emperors children. About five months later,
there were still available active medicine and Dr. Despiau took the opportunity to teach several

Vietnamese physicians the process of the vaccination. This was a monumental achievement given
the condition Dr. Despiau had to live through.
7. Syphilis
During the late 1800s, it was claimed by Frenchmen that opium dens in the city of
Saigon, Vietnam were infecting Frenchmen with Syphilis. The infection was spread through
sexual intercourse; pederasty and prostitution. French colonial officials, doctors, and travelers
were exposed to the disease. Syphilis is a bacterial disease that is sexually transmitted. The
disease causes long term complications as it is a chronic condition. During the early stages of the
disease, usually painless sores are found around the body. The sores develop into rashes and
becomes more visible during the second stage. Also, symptoms like headaches, muscle pain,
weight loss and fatigue will start to show. By the late stages of the disease, usually 10-30 years
after the infection began, the infection can badly damage the internal organs of the human body.
Late Syphilis can also cause paralysis, numbness, blindness and dementia. This can result to
death. In the late 19th century, calomel, mercurous chloride, a purgative and laxative, was used
as an inunction and in tablet form and later as an injection.

9. The First Medical Assistance Program (1897)

On 7 January 1890, a decree was issued by the office of the State Secretary of the Colonies
established a Colonial Health Advisory Council, a Colonial Health Corps, and provided for
hospital services in every French colony and protectorate. A specific health care plan for Indochina
was drawn up between 1897 and 1902 under the orders of Governor-general Paul Doumer, the
highest colonial authority in the region. In 1897, the first medical assistance program was
created. And certain territories were then assigned for the health care directors.
10. Plague - 1898
Alexandre Yersin was a Swiss-born French bacteriologist and was one of the discoverers
of the bubonic plague bacillus, Pasteurella pestis, now called Yersinia pestis. He was driven to
Indochina by the desire for adventure rather than ambition. In 1892, he joined the colonial health
service and was sent to Hong Kong (the epidemics center) in 1894. While studying the outbreak

of plague, he and Kitasato Shibasaburo, a Japanese researcher, independently discovered the

plague bacillus. Within two years, he developed and tested a serum against the disease. In 1895,
Yersin founded a second Pasteur Institute in the small seaside town of Nha Trang in central
Vietnam. He learned to speak Vietnamese fluently and later discovered the rat-borne microbe that
causes bubonic plague.
Initial tests in Canton were made in 1896 and Yersin reported that his serum decreased
plague mortality rates from over 80% to 10%. Yersins successes with his serum were more than
sufficient that the British government sent an inquiry to Indochina government about the cost and
quantity of plague serum that it might be able to provide to the British colonies.

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