Disability History of Modern East Asia: An Overview

A disability-based approach to history (disability history) gives us perspectives on historical ideas of disability in modern East Asian societies. This chapter will emphasize three main areas: (1) disability, science, and medicine; (2) disability, law, and activism; and (3) disability and popular culture. In this chapter, the modern period is taken to mean the nineteenth century and thereafter, and the focus will be on China, Japan, and South Korea.