The Study On The Red Cross Of Sichuan In Modern History(1911-1949)

In 1904,under the influence of the Russo-Japanese War(1904-1905)and the International Red Cross movement,the International Red Cross Society was founded in Shanghai,that was the beginning of the Red Cross movement in China.With the impetus of the Revolution of 1911,the Chinese Red Cross set off a wave of establishing branches in most provinces,which made the strength of Red Cross gradually grow.Throughout the modern times,as a charity,the Red Cross came into being under the stimulus of war,and constantly improved and perfected in the relief of natural and man-made disasters.In modern times,the Red Cross was able to take root and germinate in Sichuan,located in the southwestern border area,which was affected by the regional environmental factors in Sichuan.Firstly,Sichuan not only the traditional charity such as charitable associations and charitable halls were relatively developed,but also the showing mercy of gentry and businessmen was very popular.At this time,the popularity of traditional philanthropy paved the way for the Red Cross,which was also a charity.Secondly,in terms of social factors,natural and man-made disasters occurred frequently,the socialsituation was chaotic,and the people’s lives were deprived in Sichuan.It directly spawned a large number of charity,Sichuan’s Red Cross was one of them.Finally,economy is the foundation of charitable development.Since Chongqing opened a commercial port,Sichuan’s national capitalist economy had been born and developed.In addition,driven by the relocation of industries during the Anti-Japanese War,Sichuan was able to support the establishment and operation of the Red Cross in economy.With the influence of above factors,Chongqing Branch of the Qing’s Red Cross came into being in March1911,that became the first Red Cross in Sichuan.Entering the Republic of China,the Sichuan’s Red Cross was further strengthened by the war,and once became the province with the largest number of branches in whole country.Throughout the modern times,the development of Sichuan’s Red Cross had been accompanied with two main lines:one was the improvement of branch organization,the other was the development of charitable activities.In the process of organizational improvement,the Sichuan’s Red Cross strengthened own construction through extensive recruitment of members、funds and training of rescue personnel.At the same time,due to the needs of the times,the number of Sichuan’s RedCross had increased or decreased from time to time.In charitable activities,the Sichuan’s Red Cross had made outstanding contributions in disaster relief.Specifically,it included war rescue,flood and drought relief,medical donation,coffin donation,social services and so on,which had became an important part of the Sichuan’s modern philanthropy.As a social organization,the internal and external communication of the Sichuan’s Red Cross mainly involved the Chinese Red Cross、government and army.In the course of carrying out the specific charitable activities,the branches of Sichuan not only needed the leadership of the Chinese Red Cross,the supervision of the municipal and county governments,but also needed the protection of the army.Therefore,the Red Cross in Sichuan and the three parties(the Chinese Red Cross,the Government and the Army)were mutually supportive and develop together.In addition,as a product of regional environment,the Sichuan’s Red Cross also had regional characteristics,that is,there were many branches but uneven geographical distribution in the development of branch organizations.In the rescue,war rescue was prominent and natural disaster relief was lacking.“Learning from history”is the main purpose of thestudy of contemporary historical issues.In modern times,the development of Sichuan’s Red Cross mixed achievements and problems,which would provide beneficial experience for the development of charity and the Red Cross.