David Duncan Main
Dr David Duncan Main was a British doctor, best known for his medical missionary work in Hangzhou, the capital of the south-eastern Chinese Province Zhejiang, during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was superintendent of the Church Missionary Society Medical Mission from his arrival in 1881 until 1927, and principal of the Hangzhou Medical Training College. He was also involved in the formation of the Young Men's Christian Association in Hangzhou, which focused on preaching the Gospel to non-Christians. Main and his wife, Florence Nightingale Smith, opened over thirty medical buildings during their time in China, as well as a centre for industrial work training.
He was characterised by his cheerful and trustworthy nature, and known as one of Hangzhou's most famous missionaries. Those who knew him referred to him as "Dr. Apricot." His most noteworthy contributions included the Hospital of Universal Benevolence and the Hangzhou Medical Training College. The college was one of the first medical training schools in Zhejiang, and in 1926 was given provisional registration by the China Medical Association. When he retired in 1926, the hospital was dealing with 3,000 inpatients and 60,000 outpatients per year. The hospital continues to treat patients today by a different name, The Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine and was ranked as one of the top 100 hospitals in China in 1999.
Early life and education (1856–1873)
David Duncan Main was born on 10 June 1856 in Ayrshire in western Scotland, southern Scotland. He grew up the village of Kirkmichael. Throughout childhood he lived by his signature phrase, "Be good and do good." He left school at the age of 16 as head boy and medalist of his class.In 1873, he began studying Business at the University of Glasgow. Following graduation he found work at a shipping agency in Glasgow, where he took care of clerical operations for the firm.
Early medical influences
In the spring of 1873, after a conversation with a friend about living life as a Christian, Main decided to pursue medicine. While still in business in Glasgow, he began to associate himself with Pastor Findlay's work at the St. George's Tent Mission in early 1874. Here, he met D.L. Moody, a famous American evangelist, and his friend Ira D. Sankey, a gospel singer of the evangelist movement. After attending one of Moody's speeches, Main was inspired to join the evangelistic revival movement, which in turn put him in touch with many medical missionaries. During his time with Pastor Findlay, he came into contact with a medical missionary named Donald Morrison. It is through Dr. Morrison that Main was inspired to enter medical missionary work, having realised his potential to help those suffering from disease, hopelessness, and fear of death.Medical training and early career (1874–1881)
Main finished his business education at Glasgow University, and then pursued medical training with aid from the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society, at the University of Edinburgh, another one of Scotland's four ancient universities. He also studied medicine in Glasgow, and took the Triple Qualification of the Scottish Corporations in 1881. He graduated medical school in 1881, after forming many relationships with other medical colleagues. During his medical service training Main and his fellow students worked in the slums of Edinburgh and held open air meetings to give sermons. It is during this time that Main and his friend Dr. Arthur Neve formed the Church Missionary Society Medical Auxiliary, to interest their fellow students in foreign service missions.While in Hangzhou, Main and his wife studied Mandarin for several hours a day for three weeks.
Work abroad
Main married Florence Nightingale Smith in 1881; she had also worked in the slums of Edinburgh as a service woman in the Free Breakfast Mission and the Cowgate Medical Mission. Main had initially requested to be assigned work in India, however after hearing of the pressing need for doctors in China he consented to a change in appointment, and he was assigned to the Mid-China mission. Main and his wife sailed for China in September 1881, where they stayed for 46 years, returning home briefly in 1890, 1899, and 1910 for holidays.They were welcomed by Dr. James Galt and his wife and Reverend Arthur Elwin and his wife at Hangzhou. The city was known as "Heaven Below" to the natives, due to the scenery that surrounded the city. Upon their arrival, Hangzhou was in a poverty and disease stricken state due to the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion of 1861, which left the streets full of debris. Opium was widely used during this time period; thus many areas of the city were filled with recovering addicts.
Buildings and hospitals
The Central Hospital and Opium Refuge
The central hospital was the first western hospital in Zhejiang, consisting of a small building with two floors and four wards, containing the capacity to treat 20 inpatients and about two hundred outpatients in the lower floor dispensary each month. It had been created in 1869 by Christian Missionary Society member Dr. Meadows. Upon Main's arrival, he was appointed as the superintendent of Hangzhou's Church Missionary Medical Mission and thus took charge of the hospital.
During his first year in Central Hospital, he treated opium addiction, performed cataract removals, treated leprosy, and prescribed medicine.
As the opium epidemic continued in China, Main maintained the original goal of the first Central Hospital, and thus continued to allot time to treating opium addicts and included space for a male and female Opium Refuge.
The Hospital of Universal Benevolence (1884)
The Hospital of Universal Benevolence, also known as Kwang-Chi, was founded after increasing numbers of patients lined up at the dispensary each morning, and more in-patient space was needed. To fund this expansion operation, Main saw private patients, who paid him small fees for his service. Main reported that he had been "sent out here to glorify God by our lives work, and we must do it as far as possible under the healthiest conditions," thus implying the existing hospital conditions to be unfit.Main obtained the necessary funds through letter requests to the Chinese provincial government and through money from the William Charles Jones Fund. He designed the hospital, and in May 1884, the Hospital of Universal Benevolence was opened. It contained two stories and a basement, four general wards, ten private wards, a dispensary, a waiting room, and chapel. The patients were initially primarily male, with few wards allotted to women. Preaching occurred in each ward; all patients had the Gospel presented to them and many patients were baptised. It was mandated that those who could afford to pay for their board did so, but medical attendance was free to all. In 1894, due to space constraints and Chinese customary preferences, a separate women's hospital was constructed.
Dr. and Mrs. Kember, a European doctor and his wife, oversaw all of the operations and provided help, especially during the Mains' holidays. By the end of 1885, 7,931 outpatients and 374 inpatients had been treated, as well as 180 private patients and 1460 country patients. 79 cases of suicide by opium were brought to the hospital and 60 were saved.
Female and male rest homes were added in 1922 for the workers associated with the various hospitals and institutions. A Pastor's Rest Home was also built for the native clergy and their wives.
1909 renovations
Throughout the hospital's existence, the number of patients and facilities increased. As the private practice grew, more fees poured into the hospital, which helped fund the working expenses of the institution. The chapel was renovated and a large public hall was added to the other buildings in the compound. Each morning before work began in the outpatient department, Main and his workers held morning service and gave an address; all patients were able to attend.New buildings were built on newly purchased land, in which the patients were able to live in the open air. In 1905, the hospital opened dermatitis wards, female wards, and obstetrical wards. Six years later, the hospital was fully equipped with electrical lamps, water pipes, and X-ray machine equipment.
The hospital exchanged hands and names multiple times as the political situations in China varied, however in 1960 it was given its present name "Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Medical University." In the 1980s it set up the area's first Emergency Intensive Care unit. In 1999 the hospital was ranked in the top 100 hospitals in China. It is now in touch with numerous hospitals and universities, including UCLA, Johns Hopkins, and the Mayo Clinic.