A Study Of Plague In Shandong In 1911

The plague in Shandong in 1911 was an extension of the plague in northeast China during the Xuantong period.The plague of 1911 was an extension of the plague in Northeast China during the Xuantong period.The plague in Northeast China has been studied by many scholars,but less attention has been paid to Shandong,which was also attacked by the plague.Shandong was not the natural source of the plague,and the spread of the 1910-1911 plague to Shandong was due to the close ties between Shandong and the Northeast.In the context of the Qing dynasty’s "Brave the Journey to the Northeast",a large number of Shandong people went to the Northeast to become laborers.The high mobility of laborers in Shandong made it a medium for the spread of plague between Shandong and Northeast China in 1911.The plague was mainly spread to Shandong by the return of Shandong laborers in the Northeast by land and sea.The convenient transportation in Shandong was one of the reasons for the rapid and extensive spread of the plague.In terms of being affected by the epidemic,the states and counties on railway lines and major transportation routes were more infected.In terms of knowledge of plague and social customs,when the plague occurred,the people in Shandong lacked scientific and correct knowledge of plague,there were some traditional and backward concepts and customs,the concept of public health had not yet spread,and the medical and sanitary conditions in Shandong at the end of Qing Dynasty were not satisfactory,the living environment of the lower class people was crowded and dirty,and there was a huge difference in sanitary conditions between the Chinese and foreign borders,which made the Chinese,the lower class people mainly constitute the This made the Chinese,the lower class,the main group of people affected by the plague.The plague was able to spread and cause a large number of deaths at the beginning of the epidemic both because of some backward concepts and customs of the people in Shandong and because of the government’s cognitive deficiencies that caused Shandong to miss the best time to block the traffic.In the prevention of the epidemic,Shandong and Germany adopted basically the same measures,both using Western-style sanitation and epidemic prevention methods,with traffic control and quarantine as the main focus,supplemented by propaganda about the plague and relief for the poor.This Western-style sanitation and epidemic prevention method was also the main reason for the positive effect of epidemic prevention.Compared to the epidemic response in the Ming and Qing dynasties,both China and Germany were more proactive in rescuing and treating the plague.The social response to the plague was more targeted than the traditional social response to the epidemic during the Ming and Qing dynasties and better complemented the governmental measures.The plague response also had certain limitations.Although a Western-style approach was adopted,there were inevitably compromises between epidemic prevention measures and traditional concepts and customs.Although Germany tried its best to avoid the discrimination of "Chinese and foreigners" and to take a more friendly and cooperative approach to the epidemic,the German people were not satisfied with the Chinese because of their superior colonial status,their more than 10-year history of "Chinese and foreigners",and the fact that the Chinese people were the main transmitters of the epidemic.However,due to its colonial status,its more than ten-year history of "Chinese and foreign partition," and the fact that the Chinese population was the main transmitter of the epidemic,discrimination against the Chinese was inevitable.The plague occurred in 1911 during a period of financial change in the late Qing Dynasty.The central government was on the verge of financial collapse and had little control over actual resources,so it had to spread the financial burden to other provinces and allow local governors to raise funds locally and move them flexibly,further decentralizing and shifting financial power.The process of financing the plague in Shandong exhibited these characteristics.In contrast,a sound budget system allowed the Germans to finance the plague in a more comfortable manner.In terms of expenditure,it was the lack of an effective health administration and epidemic prevention mechanism in the New Deal of the late Qing Dynasty that forced the Shandong government to invest heavily in health infrastructure during the 1911 plague.There were also many conflicts and entanglements of interests in the epidemic prevention.The contradictions between China and Germany,mainly over the operation of the railroad and the dominance of epidemic prevention,were due to the fact that each side pursued its own national interests in epidemic prevention.The conflict between the official and private sectors was also mainly a conflict between the short-term interests of businessmen and the long-term interests of the government.The conflict between the governors of each province was caused by shifting the responsibility for the detention and inspection of the laborers returning to the northeast of Shandong,which reflected the administrative shortcomings of the governors of each province in the late Qing Dynasty who were divided among themselves and lacked overall awareness and evaded responsibility for each other.During the 1911 plague in Shandong,there were various changes in the psychology of the people,and these changes warranted consideration by the government in formulating measures to prevent the epidemic.It is not enough for the government to strengthen the initiative of epidemic prevention and adopt a scientific approach in epidemic prevention.It is the key to make the public understand the idea of epidemic prevention,agree with epidemic prevention measures,and form a synergy with the government that epidemic prevention measures can be effective.Whenever possible,the strictness of the government’s epidemic prevention measures should be in line with its scientific judgment of the risk of the epidemic,and it should also focus on propaganda and education so that the public’s fear of the epidemic is in line with the true danger of the epidemic.As a result of the plague in Shandong,people began to accept Western health concepts and recognize Western-style epidemic prevention measures.Overall,the plague in Shandong was at a critical point in the popularization of health concepts and the development of health in Shandong Province.As a result of the plague,the concept of public health began to spread widely,and all kinds of sanitary undertakings sprang up.The experience of adopting western-style sanitary measures for the first time in Shandong Province also provided a reference for future epidemic response.