A Lethal Harvest on the Mongolian Steppe
In September 1910, the vast grasslands of Hulunbuir witnessed an annual migration that would trigger catastrophe. Thousands of hunters descended upon Manchuria’s border city of Manzhouli, pursuing Marmota himalayana – large ground squirrels known as tarbagans or “dibao rats” in Chinese. These rodents represented a lucrative trade: their pelts, comparable to sable fur, fetched 1.2 rubles (about one tael of silver) each in international markets, with 2.5 million exported from Manzhouli that year alone.
Russian fur traders employed Chinese laborers from Shandong and Hebei provinces for the seasonal hunt. The inexperienced workers soon learned to identify easy prey – staggering, solitary marmots with milky-white eyes, abandoned by their colonies. Unbeknownst to the hunters, they were handling animals infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that caused history’s most devastating pandemics.
The Silent Spread of Death
Patient Zero likely emerged in early September 1910 at a Russian work camp 130 li (43 miles) from Manzhouli. When seven Chinese laborers suddenly died, Russian authorities burned the barracks and expelled survivors, inadvertently dispersing the plague. By September 23, infected carpenters reached Manzhouli’s Erdao Street, sparking outbreaks in crowded inns where dozens shared heated brick beds (kang) in unventilated rooms.
Several factors accelerated transmission:
– Poor hygiene (bathing being rare in winter)
– Dense railway networks under Russian/Japanese control
– Zero public health infrastructure
– Prevalent folk remedies like shamanic rituals
By December, the plague reached its epicenter in Harbin’s Fujiadian district, where mortality reached 100% among confirmed cases (1,535 deaths). Corpses piled streets as coffins sold out. One chilling account describes a Shenyang village where 147 of 150 residents perished after handling a victim’s belongings, leaving only three infants and an elderly woman.
The Plague Fighter Arrives
As deaths approached Beijing (January 12) and Tianjin (January 14), the Qing court finally acted, appointing 31-year-old Dr. Wu Lien-teh as Plague Prevention Commissioner. A Cambridge-trained Malaysian-Chinese physician, Wu made history on December 26 by performing China’s first modern autopsy (on a Japanese innkeeper) under clandestine conditions. His microscopic analysis revealed pneumonic plague – a deadlier airborne variant than flea-borne bubonic plague.
Wu’s revolutionary findings faced immediate challenges:
1. Public distrust of Western medicine
2. Cultural resistance to masks
3. Lunar New Year travel traditions
4. Anti-Japanese/Russian conspiracy theories
5. Burial customs opposing cremation
Battling Biology and Belief
Wu implemented groundbreaking measures:
– Mask Mandates: Invented affordable gauze “Wu’s Mask” (though many wore it incorrectly)
– Quarantine Zones: Military-enforced neighborhood lockdowns in Harbin
– Travel Bans: Coordinated with Russian/Japanese rail authorities
– Data Transparency: Daily mortality bulletins to combat rumors
– Mass Cremations: Secured imperial approval despite Confucian taboos
International cooperation proved vital. Japan invested 14.27 million yen, Russia 240,000 rubles, with Japanese doctors dying alongside Chinese colleagues. One tragic case saw a physician couple perish, leaving three orphans.
Legacy of the First Pandemic Response
On March 1, 1911, Wu recorded the final case. The plague had killed 60,000 in six months, but its containment marked several milestones:
– China’s inaugural international scientific conference (April 1911 Plague Conference)
– Establishment of modern public health systems
– Global recognition of Wu, later nominated for the 1935 Nobel Prize
The crisis demonstrated how scientific rigor, transparent governance, and cultural adaptation could overcome even history’s deadliest pathogens – lessons echoing powerfully today. Wu’s legacy endures as a testament to humanity’s capacity to confront invisible killers through reason and collective action.