Fei Sheng, The Smallpox Epidemic and the Anti Chinese Movement in Sydney in 1881

　　The epidemic in the modern world not only is a problem of the public health, but also affects the changing of relations among different social groups. Rooted in an exaggeration of a racial bias, the outbreak of smallpox was described with a Chinese origin and incurred an exclusive quarantine policy against the Chinese immigrants in Sydney in 1881. This event was not simply attributed to the lacking of modern medical knowledge. It further resulted in an assertion by both white politicians and grassroots to take Chinese people as a scapegoat for lame social governance. The epidemic created a racial discrimination which was tightly connected to genetic and environmental issues. The overall analysis of the anti Chinese movement in the context of the smallpox epidemic in Sydney would be helpful to form a broader reflection on the racialist discourse raised by the public crisis in the modern world.