China Doctor of John Day, Oregon, by Jeffrey Barlow and Christine Richardson
Ing Hay was a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine (herbal, pulsology) who practiced in a small, primarily white Oregon town from about 1900 to 1948. He got extremely impressive results, by all accounts, and quickly expanded his practice from the Chinese community to everyone in the vicinity, and eventually became so sought after that people starting traveling to see him. He even sometimes treated patients long-distance, via letters and packages of medicine!
(Sherwood: his predecessor, also a Chinese herbal doctor, was “Doc Lee.”)
This slim book gives a reasonable précis of his story, and that of his business partner, Lung On. The latter sounds like quite a character as well. Unlike Ing Hay, he spoke fluent English, dressed in western clothes, and apparently had not-particularly-discreet affairs with white women. Because of their barbaric attire and so forth, Lung On and a friend of his with similar predilictions jokingly called themselves “Oriental barbarians.”
Though the material is fascinating, the book suffers from a dry writing style and a lack of background and investigation. It’s very much “just the facts,” without much follow-up into their background and context. A reader unfamiliar with the period would need an explanation of the Chinese Exclusion Act (alluded to but not detailed within); a reader who already knows that sort of basic context, like myself, would have appreciated some explanation of things like, for instance, where Ing Hay was getting his Chinese herbs. (From other Chinese herbalists in San Francisco, who imported them from China. But I had to look online to find that out.)
Interesting history, so-so account.
China Doctor of John Day, Oregon
Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/932899.html. Comment here or there.
(Sherwood: his predecessor, also a Chinese herbal doctor, was “Doc Lee.”)
This slim book gives a reasonable précis of his story, and that of his business partner, Lung On. The latter sounds like quite a character as well. Unlike Ing Hay, he spoke fluent English, dressed in western clothes, and apparently had not-particularly-discreet affairs with white women. Because of their barbaric attire and so forth, Lung On and a friend of his with similar predilictions jokingly called themselves “Oriental barbarians.”
Though the material is fascinating, the book suffers from a dry writing style and a lack of background and investigation. It’s very much “just the facts,” without much follow-up into their background and context. A reader unfamiliar with the period would need an explanation of the Chinese Exclusion Act (alluded to but not detailed within); a reader who already knows that sort of basic context, like myself, would have appreciated some explanation of things like, for instance, where Ing Hay was getting his Chinese herbs. (From other Chinese herbalists in San Francisco, who imported them from China. But I had to look online to find that out.)
Interesting history, so-so account.
China Doctor of John Day, Oregon
Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/932899.html. Comment here or there.