SDG17
NCKU Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu's Transnational History of Psychiatry Wins Academia Sinica's Prestigious Award
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu's book, "Mad by the Millions:Mental Disorders and the Early Years of the World Health Organization", recently won the "13th Academic Book Award in Humanities and Social Sciences" organized by Academia Sinica. The book sheds light on the lesser-known history of how Taiwan contributed to the global development of diagnostic standards and classifications for mental disorders.
Academia Sinica’s awards are highly competitive, with 44 entries this year and only 5 recipients, each awarded NT$600,000. Although NCKU is renowned for its engineering disciplines, Professor Wu's expertise in medical history and his success in receiving this award provide significant encouragement for faculty in the humanities and social sciences.
NCKU emphasized that academic books differ from general publications as they must be peer-reviewed, demonstrate unique insights, and present substantial research achievements to be published by a professional press.
Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu, who earned a PhD in medical history from the University of Oxford, has an exceptional educational background. After graduating from Chung Shan Medical University and becoming a licensed physician, he initially planned a brief stint in the UK to study psychoanalysis. However, he became captivated by medical history and eventually decided to leave his medical career to pursue academic research. After teaching at prestigious universities like the University of Hong Kong and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, he returned to Taiwan three years ago to join NCKU, where his courses on medical history are highly popular among students.
Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu's award-winning book, "Mad by the Millions:Mental Disorders and the Early Years of the World Health Organization" , took eight years to complete. The project originated from his curiosity about Dr. Tsung-Yi Lin , a pioneer of psychiatry in Taiwan, whose name he frequently heard during his psychiatric training but found little documentation on. Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu's research eventually expanded into a comprehensive history of the early global development of psychiatry, detailing the origins of its modern structure and the WHO’s role in shaping the field.
Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu highlighted Dr. Tsung-Yi Lin’s pivotal role in the WHO. Starting in 1955, Dr. Lin served as a WHO advisor and became the project leader for social psychiatry in 1964, overseeing the development of diagnostic standards and classifications for mental disorders, including schizophrenia. In 1965, Dr. Lin moved from Taiwan to Geneva, Switzerland, to work at the WHO’s headquarters. Although he later relocated to North America, his contributions laid a critical foundation for this global initiative.
The WHO aimed to create a universal standard for mental health that accounted for diverse cultures and populations despite limited resources. This challenging endeavor was made possible through contributions from experts like Dr. Lin, as well as advancements in technology such as video recording, telegraphs, and supercomputers, which facilitated the integration of vast amounts of data.
Academia Sinica praised Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu’s work as a globally oriented transnational history of psychiatry. The book explores how WHO-affiliated mental health research groups, under the ideals of “decolonization” and “world citizenship” in the post-World War II era, promoted transnational studies on mental disorders across Western and non-Western countries. The chapters on Dr. Lin vividly illustrate how Taiwanese psychiatrists made a significant impact despite facing challenges in a complex global landscape.
Given the scarcity of historical resources, Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu invested considerable effort in his research, traveling to Switzerland, the UK, France, and the US to review archives and conduct interviews. Looking ahead, Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu plans to focus on Taiwan's role in international medical diplomacy, systematically documenting the nation’s contributions to global healthcare and continuing his efforts to preserve Taiwan’s medical history.
Academia Sinica’s awards are highly competitive, with 44 entries this year and only 5 recipients, each awarded NT$600,000. Although NCKU is renowned for its engineering disciplines, Professor Wu's expertise in medical history and his success in receiving this award provide significant encouragement for faculty in the humanities and social sciences.
NCKU emphasized that academic books differ from general publications as they must be peer-reviewed, demonstrate unique insights, and present substantial research achievements to be published by a professional press.
Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu, who earned a PhD in medical history from the University of Oxford, has an exceptional educational background. After graduating from Chung Shan Medical University and becoming a licensed physician, he initially planned a brief stint in the UK to study psychoanalysis. However, he became captivated by medical history and eventually decided to leave his medical career to pursue academic research. After teaching at prestigious universities like the University of Hong Kong and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, he returned to Taiwan three years ago to join NCKU, where his courses on medical history are highly popular among students.
Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu's award-winning book, "Mad by the Millions:Mental Disorders and the Early Years of the World Health Organization" , took eight years to complete. The project originated from his curiosity about Dr. Tsung-Yi Lin , a pioneer of psychiatry in Taiwan, whose name he frequently heard during his psychiatric training but found little documentation on. Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu's research eventually expanded into a comprehensive history of the early global development of psychiatry, detailing the origins of its modern structure and the WHO’s role in shaping the field.
Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu highlighted Dr. Tsung-Yi Lin’s pivotal role in the WHO. Starting in 1955, Dr. Lin served as a WHO advisor and became the project leader for social psychiatry in 1964, overseeing the development of diagnostic standards and classifications for mental disorders, including schizophrenia. In 1965, Dr. Lin moved from Taiwan to Geneva, Switzerland, to work at the WHO’s headquarters. Although he later relocated to North America, his contributions laid a critical foundation for this global initiative.
The WHO aimed to create a universal standard for mental health that accounted for diverse cultures and populations despite limited resources. This challenging endeavor was made possible through contributions from experts like Dr. Lin, as well as advancements in technology such as video recording, telegraphs, and supercomputers, which facilitated the integration of vast amounts of data.
Academia Sinica praised Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu’s work as a globally oriented transnational history of psychiatry. The book explores how WHO-affiliated mental health research groups, under the ideals of “decolonization” and “world citizenship” in the post-World War II era, promoted transnational studies on mental disorders across Western and non-Western countries. The chapters on Dr. Lin vividly illustrate how Taiwanese psychiatrists made a significant impact despite facing challenges in a complex global landscape.
Given the scarcity of historical resources, Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu invested considerable effort in his research, traveling to Switzerland, the UK, France, and the US to review archives and conduct interviews. Looking ahead, Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu plans to focus on Taiwan's role in international medical diplomacy, systematically documenting the nation’s contributions to global healthcare and continuing his efforts to preserve Taiwan’s medical history.
Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu of the Cross College Elite Program authored "Mad by the Millions: Mental Disorders and the Early Years of the World Health Organization" , which was honored with the "13th Academic Book Award in Humanities and Social Sciences" organized by Academia Sinica.
The cover photo of "Mad by the Millions: Mental Disorders and the Early Years of the World Health Organization" features Dr. Tsung-Yi Lin, a pioneer of psychiatric medicine in Taiwan, participating in a WHO expert meeting. In the image, Dr. Lin is seated at the top left corner of the long table.( The image is sourced from the Queen Mary Archives, Eileen Brookes PP32 [EB Box 2]. )
Academia Sinica pointed out that Associate Professor Yi-Jui Wu's work is a globally oriented transnational history of psychiatry.
