Shanghai General Hospital is a Class A tertiary general hospital located in Shanghai, China.
Names
The hospital was originally founded as General Hospital in Shanghai or Shanghai General Hospital. The hospital might not have had an official Chinese name until 1877, and a few common Chinese names include French Hospital (法国医院), Shanghai Public Hospital (上海公病院), and General Hospital (综合医院). In 1877, the Chinese name of the hospital was changed to Gongji Hospital (公济医院). In 1953, the Chinese name was again changed to Shanghai Municipal First People's Hospital (上海市立第一人民医院), and Shanghai First People's Hospital (上海市第一人民医院) in 1966. It was
entitled
Entitled or Entitlement may refer to:
Social sciences and philosophy
* Entitlement (fair division)
* Entitlement program
* Entitlement commodities
* Entitlement (psychology)
* Entitlement theory
Arts and television
* ''Entitled'' (album)
* " ...
Shanghai Red Cross Hospital (上海市红十字医院) in 1981, and the First People's Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University (上海交通大学附属第一人民医院) in 2002.
In English, its official name is still Shanghai General Hospital, although names such as Shanghai First People's Hospital are also used.
History
Pre-Second Sino-Japanese War
In 1863, invited by the French consul in Shanghai, Catholic priest Mannus Desjacoues came forward as an agent to raise 50,000
Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (; abbreviated DC), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, is a society of apostolic life for women within the Catholic Church. ...
. In addition, the hospital used to admit only expatriate patients and did not treat Chinese patients. The hospital was founded as a small hospital with only 35 beds.
In 1870, the Tianjin Massacre occurred and the situation in Shanghai became unstable, making the operation of the hospital very difficult for a while. As the lease was due to expire on December 31, 1876, the hospital management began to discuss the relocation of the hospital in September 1874 after the difficulties were overcome, with the initial director, F. B. Forbes, favoring Heard's Garden. In January 1875, newly appointed director
William Keswick
William Keswick (15 April 1834 – 9 March 1912) was a British Conservative politician and businessman, patriarch of the Keswick family, an influential shipping family in Hong Kong associated with Jardine Matheson Holdings.
Biography
Keswick ...
favored Endicott's Garden, although at that time the management was also considering purchasing land in
Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek (or Soochow Creek), also called the Wusong (Woosung) River, is a river that passes through the Shanghai city center. It is named after the neighboring city of Suzhou (Soochow), Jiangsu, the predominant settlement in this area prior ...
for the hospital. In 1875, the hospital began negotiations with the
Shanghai Municipal Council
The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the 1863 merger of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction under the terms of ...
(SMC) to purchase land on the north bank of the Suzhou Creek outside the
French Concession
The Shanghai French Concession was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943. For much of the 20th century, the area covered by the former French Concession remained the premier residential and retail district of Shanghai. ...
. The SMC agreed to the request and intended to place the hospital under the management of both the SMC and the Conseil D'Administration Municipale de la Concession Française de Changhai (authority of the French Concession), however the French were initially reluctant in order to maintain a certain degree of independence, however they simply could not afford to run the hospital and eventually compromised. In 1877, the hospital relocated and was given an official Chinese name.
After the hospital moved, it grew rapidly in size, and the
Congregation of the Mission
The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vin ...
purchased additional land near the hospital to build
convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
s. Thereafter, as the Daughters of Charity was appointed to take over the Sainte Marie Hospital, they were unable to manage the hospital, despite an overall increase in manpower in Shanghai. In September 1913, the
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary are a Roman Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded by Mother Mary of the Passion (born Hélène Marie Philippine de Chappotin de Neuville, 1839–190 ...
took over the hospital. After the relocation of the hospital, the management was transferred to the board of trustees, which was dominated by the SMC. In 1884, an isolation ward was established, and the hospital served as a foreign isolation hospital for the Settlement until 1900, when the Foreign Isolation Hospital was built. After purchasing the land to the east of the hospital in February 1890, wards, morgues, and
autopsy
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...
rooms were constructed.
In 1937, the hospital began hiring Chinese female nurses.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Civil War
On August 13, 1937, Japan attacked Shanghai, and the SMC attempted to take a neutral stance. In November, Shanghai was occupied by Japan, and
Stirling Fessenden
Stirling Fessenden (29 September 1875 – 1 February 1944), an American lawyer who practiced in Shanghai, was the chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council from 1923 to 1929 and then Secretary-General of the Council from 1929 to 1939.
Early lif ...
, on behalf of the SMC, formally announced that the SMC to be neutral, and that it would treat the rights and interests of both the Chinese and the Japanese in the Settlement on the same footing. However, by early 1938, the Japanese had forced the SMC to agree to have Japanese police officers manage
Hongkou
Hongkou (; formerly spelled Hongkew) is a district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 757,498 as of 2020. The district borders Yangpu to the east, Pudong to the southeast, Huangpu t ...
.
Director G. Charnbers and the sisters transferred 70 patients to the Henry Lester Institute for Medical Research, while the rest of the staff took refuge in the relative safety of the French Concession, which was not occupied by the Japanese. During the same period, the hospital was bombed by the Japanese, but there were no casualties because the staff had already evacuated. After the fighting in Shanghai ended, the hospital began to allow Chinese soldiers and patients to enter the hospital for treatment. In 1940, the Japanese arrested one hospital manager J. C. Burges for " collaborating with the enemy". The Japanese had been trying to take control of the hospital, and hospital equipment was looted and vandalized by the Japanese during this period, and medicinal materials were stolen and sold.
The
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
Vichy France
Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
at this time, the Japanese did not occupy it. In 1943, Vichy France transferred the Concession to the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state of Japan, so that both Concessions were in fact under Japanese jurisdiction. However, due to the complexity of the ownership of the hospital, the Japanese were not able to take full control of the hospital, although the hospital was commandeered by the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
for a time on the eve of the end of the war.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the
Nationalist Government
The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...
took back the Shanghai International Settlement and the Shanghai French Concession. The British and French administrations of the hospital initially refused to return the hospital to the Nationalist Government, but compromised after efforts by Zhu Yanggao, Yu Songyun, and
K. C. Wu
K. C. Wu (; October 21, 1903 – June 6, 1984) was a Chinese political figure and historian. Among other offices, he served as Mayor of Shanghai and as Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government.
Early life
Wu was born in Jianshi County, H ...
. The name of the hospital remained unchanged after the handover, but was fully open to the Chinese.
After the Civil War
In May 1949, communist troops entered Shanghai. on June 3, the Shanghai Military Control Committee took over the hospital. November 10, 1952, the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau issued a notice, Gongji Hospital was renamed Shanghai Municipal First People's Hospital. In 1956, the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine was established. In 1966, the Chinese name was changed again to Shanghai First People's Hospital. In 1992, the hospital was recognized as a Class A tertiary general hospital.
Services
Locations
The hospital has two main campuses located at 100 Haining Road, Hongkou District (North Campus) and 650 Xinsongjiang Road,
Songjiang District
Songjiang is a suburban district (formerly a county) of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 1,909,713 (2020). Owing to a long history, Songjiang is known as the cultural root of Shanghai.
Songjiang Town, the urban center of the ...
(South Campus). As of 2013, the two main hospitals cover an area of 94,775 square meters, with more than 4,000 staffs, 1,580 approved beds, and more than 2,000 actual open beds, making it one of the largest hospitals in Shanghai.
Affiliations
The hospital cooperates with
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 98 ...
, Shanghai Public Health Bureau and
Shanghai Municipal People's Government
The Shanghai Municipal People's Government is the local administrative agency of Shanghai. It is officially elected by the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and is formally responsible to the SMPC and its Standing Committee. The municipal gove ...