Chang Kuo-chou

Chang Kuo Chou was a Taiwanese scholar, calligrapher, and is widely considered to be the Father of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Early life

Chang was born and grew up in Chiayi, near present day Tainan as the second child of LiuBian and JianWei. He was adopted by ChangWen and JianGe for work in the agriculture fields. Although assigned to farm labor, during his free time Chang showed a keen interest for learning with activities such as writing Chinese characters on the ground.

Education and career

At a time when illiteracy and poverty were common, Chang convinced JiaYi, the village elder to subsidize his education in Japan. In 1930, Chang graduated from Japan’s Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences and returned to Taiwan to be the country’s first pharmacist. Over the next few years he used compounding techniques and revolutionized medicine by creating a set of powdered formulas that incorporated elements of both western and eastern medicine. His products are still popular today. is Taiwan’s number one selling powdered medicine. His book, is still available today.

Calligraphy

won many awards including Japanese Calligraphy and Taiwanese Banner.