Falling Autumn Leaves: A Cultural History of Tuberculosis: A Cultural History of Tuberculosis

Author: Yu Fenggao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: This is the disease of the poor, yet also the disease of the rich; it is favored by the royal family of monarchy, who visited the scene multiple times, and is also valued by the revolutionary leader of the proletariat, who conducted in-depth research and investigation. Particularly interesting is that it is even recorded as a special aesthetic object in various historical records. There, people read that realist writers revealed and cursed the social system that caused poverty through its depiction, while romantic composers sang the Bohemian lifestyle through its portrayal. There, people also read that some viewed it as "ugly" and avoided it for fear of association with death, while others revered it as "beautiful" and longed for the joyous of a melancholic death. From this perspective, compared to other diseases, tuberculosis indeed has a richer cultural background.