Adler Museum of Medicine opens exhibition in honour of Chinese medical pioneer, Dr Yan Fuqing

On Friday Wits University's Adler Museum hosted special guests and the media to a VIP event where they welcomed a new exhibition that honours the legacy of the late Dr Yan Fuqing.

Celebrating and honouring his life and all the good deeds that he has done in medicine, the exhibition features documents, letters, images, certificates and newspaper clippings about Fuqing’s legacy.

The theme of the exhibition is ‘A Pioneer’, the display explores his journey through his contributions to medicine, education, international relations and it will be showcasing in South Africa for the first time.

This global exhibition will be visiting three countries outside of China. South Africa is the first in this series of international exhibitions, followed by the United Kingdom and the last stop will be in the United States of America.

While it is not the first time the museum honours individuals who have left a legacy worth sharing, it is however the largest exhibition of its kind.

Dr Yan Fuqing lived from 1882 to1970, he was a medical practitioner, civil servant, educator and a pioneer of modern healthcare in China. Fuqin became the first Asian to graduate from Yale School of Medicine and he was also part of the first cohort of professional doctors from China to provide aid to Africa.

In 1904 at just 22, he was an intern physician at the time, the pioneer travelled to South Africa to assist Chinese mining labourers who suffered from severe illnesses in harsh conditions.

Chairperson of the board of the Adler Museum of Medicine in the faculty of health sciences, Professor Richard Cooke, said the museum is always happy to showcase good work done by diverse individuals from various backgrounds.

“This exhibition is honouring the contribution of an individual who has a brief but very impactful association with South Africa, he can be an example to our medical students. We teach the history of medicine but that mustn't be in the distant past. We must demonstrate the work of role models that they can potentially aspire to be like,” Cooke said.

This limited experience exhibition is open to the public from Saturday until Tuesday between 9am and 4pm at the Adler Museum of Medicine in Parktown, Johannesburg.

The Adler Museum boasts an extraordinary private assembly of medical and pharmaceutical artefacts, showcasing the evolution of healthcare, dental care, and pharmacy across centuries through its vast collection of over 40,000 items.

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