Christianity And Sichuan And Xikang Multi-national Area Modern Medical Service Enterprise: A Study Of The Medical Service Of The Church Of Christ In China

This dissertation purposes to reconstruct the historical facts of the medical service and religious service of the Border Service Department of Church of Christ in China(hereafter as BSDCC)in Sichuan northwest and Xikang national minority area, and research the developmental approach of BSDCC and its influence to the Chinese society in the time of the War and the social reforming.The July 7^th Incident of 1937 marked the beginning of Japan's all-out attack upon China. The Nanjing National Government was heavily threatened and was forced to remove its capital to Chongqing. Along with it, many industries, colleges and social organizations removed to the West. Christian organizations also diverted its center of missionary work to the Southwest China one after another because they could not be protected effectively and were badly injured in the war. The historical position of the Southwest China so-called border areas in that time suddenly ascended. To consolidate the rear base of defending invader, the National Government came to pay its attention to the Southwest border areas and took many measures to develop it. The Southwest border was backward and its social situation was unsatisfactory, which made difficulties to the National Government to build the Southwest border areas, but provided unprecedented historical chances to Christian missionary work.Under the advocacy of Chen Jing-yi and with the help of the National Government, the BSDCC aiming at taking social service and preaching the Gospel for the people in the Southwest border areas was established. The BSDCC had three service areas. One was in the west of Sichuan Province, the second was in the center of Xichang, the capital of Xikang Province and the third was in Yunnan Province.The BSDCC build up special medical organizations in the west of Sichuan and in the Service Areas of Xichang. Yunnan Service Areas did not carry out medical work because of its short existence.In the west of Sichuan, the BSDCC mainly set up Weizhou hospital, Zagu-nao hospital and the united hospital cooperated with the Lixian Government. The daily work in the West-Sichuan service areas included treating the patients at the dispensaries and having physical examinations for the people during itinerating. Besides these, some medical activities were launched by the dispensaries of some schools and by the primary training classes of nurses. In the Xikang Service Areas, the BSDCC founded several hospitals and dispensaries, such as Xichang center hospital, Hesi dispensary, Dechang dispensary, Luojia-chang dispensary, Sikai dispensary, Puwei dispensary and midwifery training classes etc. These medical organizations carried out long-term daily medical service for the people in the border district. In addition, the BSDCC organized the student service teams to serve for the people of West Sichuan and Xikang. All these efforts not only have substance merit to the people but also extended the influence of the BSDCC.During the course of serving for the people in the borderland, the BSDCC organized experts and workers to study how to delve the special laws of the local illnesses such as Kala-azar and Goitre to serve the people in the borderland better. These medical services and studies, to a certain extent, solved the serious problems that the border people heavily suffered from the illness, spread the modern medical knowledge, changed the harmful habits and customs, stimulated the development of the medical undertakings and made a contribution to scientific research in medicine.As a kind of social service work launched by Christianity, the medical and health works had close ties with the preaching the Gospel. To preach the Gospel, the BSDCC selects diverse methods to preach, such as the outpatient service, family and hospital visiting, itineration, the medical treatment, preaching for training classes of nurses, the audiovisual education and the library preaches and so on. The BSDCC tried its best to lead the border people to understand their service work and convert their original religious belief to Christianity. In view of serious harm of the opium to the people in service area, the BSDCC positively coordinates the Republic of China government, propaganda the policies of bane on opium smoking and the opium trade and help the smoker to treat, which has made certain progress in this regard. However, the evangelic aim of Christianity in China had been transferred from preaching directly in the past to "Social Gospel" attaching importance to promotion of the social reform and progress. The position of preaching the Gospel simply was not outstanding in the border service.The border service underwent three different periods, namely, the War of Resistance against Japan, the War of Liberation, and the initial post-liberation period. But the main service work was carried out in the first two periods. After1949, because the ideology influence and the worsening relationship between China and American, the border service work fell into the difficult position gradually. After the "three anti's" movement, any event was infected by the political color. The time of religious activities was taken by various political studies or activities in the very great degree and the gospel scope was strictly limited. Because of government's policy and the economical difficulty, the border medical service work had to break off or turn over the government.The border service movement is the product of "social gospel" and "three-self Movement", which not only has the important influence to the church development, but also improved the national minority area society in west China to some degree. As one of the important service ways, medical service work promoted the medicine introduction and growth in the Sichuan and Xikang national minority area, relieved the indisposition illness of the people in these areas. However, because China was in the unusual period at that time, the border service work created by Christian group inevitably had to face the multitudinous difficulty. During Kuomintang government period, many difficulties, such as the funds' shortage, the border people's doubts, the scarcity of personnel willing service to the border areas and so on, obstructed the work development. The border medical service was doomed to be impossible to have much achievement. After the establishment of Chinese People Republic, the society reform in the national minority area was planed to line with governmental unified construction, the Christianity function unavoidably weakens. On the whole, the function of BSDCC to the society reform in the Sichuan and Xikang area was limited. But, at least before 1949, there was no other governmental or the non-official organizations do even more than the BSDCC. From this perspective, although the historical function of the border service could not be exaggerated, also should not be underestimated.This dissertation consists of 8 chapters and 300,000 words with introduction and conclusion.