Medical Historical Value of the “The Quarterly Reports of the Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton” Review of Peter Parker and Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton

Recently published by the Central Compilation and Translation Press, Peter Parker and Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton is the Chinese edition of The Quarterly Reports of the Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton, written by Dr. Peter Parker (1804-1888), an American medical missionary. Dr. Parker founded the Canton Ophthalmic Hospital in November 1835, the first Western hospital in China. From 1836 to 1850, he authored 15 quarterly reports, which were serialized in The Chinese Repository. These reports document patient statistics and detailed case studies, highlighting the role of medical missionaries in China before and after the Opium War and the introduction of Western medicine to China.