Ongoing Research
Our collections have barely been studied, so there is a multitude of research topics to explore at Kam Wah Chung for students and professionals alike!
Traditional Chinese Medicine Research
Brand, Eric Joseph. 2017. A Material Evidence Base for Investigating the Evolution of Chinese Medicinal Varieties and Cross-cultural Exchange. https://scholars.hkbu.edu.hk/ws/portalfiles/portal/55005737/OA-0426.pdf
Chen, Chia-lin, “A Gold Dream in the Blue Mountains: A Study of the Chinese Immigrants in the John Day Area, Oregon, 1870-1910” (1972). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 962.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.962
National University of Natural Medicine (Previously Oregon College of Oriental l Medicine)
Mentioned throughout the website is our ongoing Traditional Chinese Medicine research. Our past partnership with OCOM is allowing their students and staff access to our formulas and medicinal ingredients to understand what Kam Wah Chung has to offer for the medical world. Recently, OCOM has developed a new website for the public to view and researchers to access, called the Kam Wah Chung Medical Archive, which is now
The Traditional Chinese Medicine International Project
The project is sponsored by Chinese medicine professors and medical professionals from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Their goal is to understand the historical use of traditional Chinese medicine and how that can be used in modern medicine. Since Kam Wah Chung is one of only three places in the world, we are excited to help with this project as we go forward.
The Kam Wah Chung Translation Project
This is an ongoing project that will last for years to come. Began in 2007, we have completed a portion of the project. The first phase was to scan all the archives into a digital format, which was completed in the fall of 2018. Our next step is to have a searchable index of the collection, which will likely take several years to complete since this project is undertaken by staff, volunteers, and hosts as time allows. Then, once the archives are indexed, we will begin translating the documents in earnest, probably in conjunction with the searchable database phase since we need to know what the document states in traditional Cantonese Chinese.
Archaeology of the John Day Chinatown (in partnership with the Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project
OCDP is a grassroots Federal/State/Local partnership in public archaeology that is helping to rewrite the role of the Chinese diaspora and Chinese Oregonians in the history of the state. We are fortunate to have archaeological investigations here at Kam Wah Chung as part of the partnership between Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site, Malheur National Forest, and Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology. Excavations began in 2006 and 2007 when Oregon State Parks purchased a lot for future expansion of Kam Wah Chung. In 2018, ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to locate possible features underground for eventual archaeology work. That portion was so successful, in 2019 excavations took place as part of the OCPD in John Day associated with Chinese mining sites on the Malheur National Forest and public archaeology talks in Canyon City, OR. This project will continue through research of other Chinese sites as it relates to Kam Wah Chung.