Acknowledgments
This book tells the stories of people who traveled and learned. In my own travels and learning, I have relied on the help of many people.
For his support during the doctoral research on which this book is based, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my dissertation advisor, Thomas David, for his scrupulous and critical reading, which pushed me to refine every part of my argument amid a sea of archival sources. My co-advisor, Davide Rodogno, was the first person to read my preliminary chapters and advised me to write more like a historian, a skill that I am still learning. Their mentorship, patience, and passion for research guided me throughout my doctoral work. The dissertation would not have been what it is without the comments and criticisms of my thesis committee, and for that I am profoundly indebted to Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Pierre Singaravélou, and Yohan Ariffin.
This book has greatly benefited from myriad discussions and critical comments, and the testing out of my arguments over the years. I want to address my gratitude to the members of the Swiss National Science Foundation’s Sinergia research network “Patterns of Transnational Regulation” – Sandrine Kott, Martin Lengwiler, Roberto Sala, Matthieu Leimgruber, Jean-Christophe Graz, Milena Guthörl, and Nils Moussu – for stimulating discussions and comments on my drafts. I have enjoyed and learned so much from our meetings. I would also like to thank Lion Murard, Patricia Rosenfield, Dan Fox, Sean Hsiang-Lin Lei, Chang Li, Kawashima Shin, Dora Vargha, and the late Socrates Litsios for the inspiring discussions and encouragement.
The Swiss National Science Foundation provided important financial support for this book: the open access version of this book was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, and I would not have had access to such extensive archival materials without the financial support of the Foundation’s Sinergia research network. I would also like to thank Reynald Erard of the World Health Organization Archives, Jacques Obserson of the League of Nations Archives, and Margaret Hogan, Monica Blank, and the late Tom Rosenbaum of the Rockefeller Archive Center: not only did they share their knowledge, they slaked my thirst for sources by providing leads to more material. A chat with Tom provided leads for Chapter 2. My sincere thanks to Zhang Daqing, Liu Shiyung, and Zhang Yung-An for helping me to access Chinese archives. It was not easy to gain access to Chinese material from Switzerland; I am grateful to Chen Ju-Han, Kao Tzu-Yi, and Lin Yi-Hsuan for helping me access online databases, which saved me much trouble. I would also like to thank the Beijing Municipal Archives, the Peking Union Medical College Archives, the Archives of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Library of China, Shanghai Library, Academia Historica, the Institute of Modern History of the Academia Sinica, Taiwan Historica, the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the American Philosophical Society, the Columbia University Libraries, the National Archives and Records Administration (College Park), the United Nations Archives and Records Management Section, the William H. Welch Medical Library, and Yale University Library.
I have given lectures based on parts of this book at the Peking University Department of History of Science, Technology and Medicine, the Chinese Academy of Science Institute for the History of Natural Science, and the Global Asia Research Center at National Taiwan University. I would like to thank Zhang Li, Zhang Daqing, Wu Chia-Lin, Lan Pei-Chia, and the participants at those lectures for the thought-provoking discussions and encouragement. Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Lucy Rhymer, and anonymous readers have helped this book become what it is today and live up to its potential. Rachel Blaifeder bore with my rookie editing questions. Margaret Besser copyedited the manuscript; her meticulous editing and knowledge of Chinese helped me overcome linguistic barriers and saved me from many embarrassing typos. Jess Farr-Cox, Stephanie Carter, Aaron Glasserman and Mathilde Sigalas provided precious advice at the final stretch of editing. Ludovic Tournès, Pierre-Yves Saunier, Lan Pei-Chia, Davide Rodogno, Harry Wu shared their experience of writing books and prepared me for this otherwise unimaginable ride.
Rewrites were completed during my postdoctoral research on the Swiss National Science Foundation Heralds of Globalization project. My teammates Ahmad Fahoum, Mathilde Sigalas, Hannah Tyler, and I are now sailing in an even larger sea of experts who have traveled and learned.
My friends and colleagues Sabina Widmer, Johanna Schnabel, Virginie Fracheboud, Andrea Pilotti, Caroline Bertron, Chuang Ya-Han, Lee Shih-Rong, and Michael Hutter were precious allies during the long thesis-writing process. Yi-Chien Chu, Chia-Fen Liao, De-Wei Chen, Shu-Wen Tang, and Chang-Jr Lin helped me make it through the difficult period when I was unable to go home by “airdropping” Taiwanese food. Po-Jung Yang and Pei-Yin Chien always remind me of my deadlines and make sure I am making progress. Albert Hsu, Yung-wei Song, and Ray Ho were always welcoming during my trips to the New York archives – at a time when traveling was simpler.
Finally, special thanks to my family. My parents are always supportive of my odd life choices. My sister has been my reserve commander, supplying me with food. My partner, Dominique, has been amazingly supportive in so many ways – from taking photos in the archives while on vacation to taking care of household chores and enduring my monologues-disguised-as-questions with a delightfully weird sense of humor.
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