A Study Of The Chinese Mission To Lepers(1926-1943)

Leprosy,as an ancient and chronic infectious disease with no known cause,has been covered up by superstition at all times and at home and abroad.After entering China,the missionaries were influenced by the Christian faith.They first set up jatropha hospitals in China to carry out relief activities for leprosy and spread the Gospel in the relief.Therefore,the missionaries had an undisputed dominant power in the relief work of leprosy in modern times.After the republic of China,Shanghai's philanthropy flourished,with various charitable organizations.At the same time,the Chinese church backbone in the 1920s,the impact of the non-christian movement,expected to replace the western missionaries to take the responsibility of modern leprosy relief.Finally,under the multiple functions of Christian faith,nationalist appeal and the naturalization of the church,the Chinese leprosy relief association came into being,breaking the monopoly of missionaries in the relief of leprosy.The members of the relief association are mostly the church backbone and the medical elites with the background of studying in the west,mainly from the ymca and the Chinese medical association,so the organizational structure imitates the ymca's director system and officer system.The organization of scientific checks and balances and the open and transparent credit investigation mechanism are important guarantees for the good operation of the relief commission.As the only national leprosy modern charity.the leprosy relief since embarked on its establishment leprosy relief movement,especially from 1926 to 1943,make full use of its core position,publicity and actual charity relief activities,mainly includes:establish the leprosy quarterly popularize knowledge of leprosy and shovel crazy importance,speeches and on-the-spot investigation organization called essay,spread the Gospel in relief,such as forming and aid the leprosy hospital,started only a new type of jatropha courtyard,held a national conference on jatropha.etc.While carrying out the relief program,the relief program had frequent interactions with the government and urged the authorities to pay attention to the leprosy problem.Unfortunately,due to the unstable situation and financial difficulties,the government did not respond to the Suggestions made by the relief program.To some extent,the existence of the Chinese leprosy relief association aroused the attention of the society and the government on the relief work of leprosy,and made great efforts to get rid of the "stigma" of leprosy patients,which contributed to the transformation of the relief method of leprosy in modern China from isolation to treatment.However,there are many drawbacks in the fund and management of the relief committee.Since the fund is not wide and mainly relies on the subsidy from the American leprosy relief society,the relief society inevitably falls into the embarrassing situation of insufficient fund,which hinders its operation to some extent.Finally,the outbreak of the Pacific war completely cut off foreign sources of funding,and domestic donations were also affected by the war.In addition to the unsatisfactory treatment results and the lack of government support,the relief-led eradication campaign inevitably failed.The research on the organization,operation and relief methods of the Chinese leprosy relief association can provide historical reference for the establishment of similar charities and promote the development of modern philanthropy.