The Late Qing Dynasty Nongovemmental Relief Thought Explored (1876-1904)

The Opium War has made the country open widely and exclamation declines. So in the face of major natural disasters, Chinese nongovernmental relief all stretched out their hands, not only rescued the people in the water and fire, but also started folk nongovernmental relief precedent. In nongovernmental relief emergence, development and mature of the entire process, It was the time that nongovernmental relief thought was self-sustained and China relief thought occurred the process of metamorphosis. This article is comprehensive studied on the nongovernmental relief thought from the development of it, and tries to have an accurate analysis and grasp.The first part is said with emphasis the background which the nongovernmental relief organizations appeared. In Late Qing Dynasty the famines were frequent; the Qing Dynasty government was in the stalemate by inside and outside. In this historical background, a number of benevolent people appeared, and the nongovernmental relief organizations appeared, it became an important force in the late Qing Dynasty relief.The second part is described the source of relief thought. This chapter introduced with emphasis the disaster relief thought. It not only had Chinese thousands of years of thought of accumulation, also absorbed the advanced western practices in disaster relief. Its conception was introduced into China, and combined with the realities of China. So that China's social assistance career was injected fresh blood at the end of 19th century, and it presented the unprecedented characteristic. The third part introduced the formation and development of disaster relief thought. It is described in three periods. The first stage was from 1867 to 1880, the nongovernmental relief thought in this period had strong philanthropic concept, but it hadn't get rid of the traditional concept. Even so, the nongovernmental relief thought played a huge spiritual incentive effect to mobilize all social forces. The second stage was from 1880 to 1885. It began to break through the traditional karmic retribution concept, combined with more social practice. Science relief, governmental and nongovernmental relief thought was put forward. Disaster management had become from negative to active, it pointed out the direction for modern relief. The third stage was from 1885 to 1904; nongovernmental relief changed from traditional charitable view into modern public welfare thought, and presented the modern charitable idea shadow. It played a positive role for the modern charitable thought.In the fourth part, it is summarized on the characteristic, application and the ideological history status. Nongovernmental relief thought not only learned and introduced advanced western relief thought. It had the obvious times and scientific. Its application in practice broke through the traditional relief thought and opened the Chinese social relief thought process of modernization.Researching systematically nongovernmental relief thought of late Qing Dynasty is conducive to study the modern process of Chinese social relief thought. It promoted the research of Chinese social relief thought history. Mean while provided the reference for today's social relief cause development.