Republic Of China Ningbo Charity The Actual State Of Transition (1912-1937)

Located in Southeast coast of China, Ningbo is one of the first commercial ports in modern times. Its social development features typically in the advancement of modern Chinese society. Up to now the related research on it is quite limited. Therefore, this paper aims to reflect the social change and development in Southeast coast of China through the study of philanthropy in Ningbo.Besides introduction, six chapters are included in the paper. Chapter one— regional society and the tradition of Ningbo philanthropy. It presents the social and historical background information for the rising of philanthropy in Ningbo area. Due to the thriving of modern economy in Ningbo and growing of Ningbo commercial gang, the wealth of the society has been accumulated greatly. The dramatic process of modernization has resulted in large number of poor and weak public. At the same time, the development of traditional Ningbo philanthropy has been deeply influenced by the foreign culture and the social reform starting from self-government movement in the late Qing Dynasty. The practical morality and regional tradition of philanthropy provide sources for the development of Ningbo philanthropy in early modern times.Chapter two- coexistence of the old and new charitable organizations. In early modern times, a great deal of charitable organizations could be found in Ningbo area which were categorized into four types: traditional, modern, foreign and public welfare concerned according to their business characteristics.Chapter three- charitable activities in convention and in an emergency. In line with charitable content and relief object, the charitable activities are categorized into conventional charity and emergency charity. Case studies of Cixi Yunhua charitable institution, food shortage in Ningbo and merchants' controlling of water in early modern times are shown for conventional helping; while case studies of Flood in autumn of 1922 and Jiangzhe War in 1924 are also mentioned in order to see how emergencies are dealt with.