A Study On The Disaster Relief Activities Of Western Missionaries In Ding-wu Disaster In Shandong

Since modern times,with the signing of unequal treaties,more and more missionaries came into Shandong,However,due to cultural differences and emotional estrangement,the missionary work in Shandong has not achieved remarkable results.During the reign of Guangxu,the Ding-wu disaster spread in North China,and Shandong became the earliest area of disaster.The Missionaries set foot in Shandong area through relief work.In the process of relief,the missionaries used modernization method that is quite different from the traditional Chinese government of famine.Some missionaries also proposed a series of reform measures to the Qing government based on their work.These activities had a great impact on both the relief work at the time and the exchanges between China and the West.Based on historical materials such as Shenbao,this article attempts to clarify the causes of Ding-wu disaster in Shandong and the conditions under which missionaries conduct disaster relief,Analyze the missionary organization and its main activities during the disaster relief in Shandong,and discuss the impact of missionary activities in Shandong.This paper has three parts.The first chapter as the first part,which mainly introduces the background of the missionaries' participation in the disaster relief in Shandong.The earliest activities of missionary in China can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty,but before modern times,missionaries were not active in Shandong.Until the 1860 s,more missionaries began to work in Shandong.Beginning in 1876,Shandong experienced rare droughts for various reasons.It was hungry and hungry all the time,but was limited to objective conditions.Officials were powerless and created conditions for missionaries to participate in disaster relief,but limited to objective conditions,the officials were powerless,creating conditions for missionaries to participate in disaster relief.The second part is the second chapter,which mainly analyzes the missionary's activities in the relief process.The missionaries in Shandong,especially Timothy Richard,used his personal relationships to call for a large number of Westerners to participate in the fund-raising work.As a result,not only the Western respondents,but also the Chinese donations at various trade ports.These funds were handed over to the missionaries inShandong province for distribution through Yantai.In order to ensure that they can help as many victims as possible,these missionaries went around and constantly explored,helping a large number of drought victims to maintain their lives.At the same time,with the participation of a large number of Westerners in disaster relief activities,a number of disaster relief committees were established under the attention of missionaries.These committees played an important role in the disaster relief process and achieved good results.In addition,it is particularly noteworthy that many missionaries have made child relief one of their priorities during the disaster relief process,adopting children or providing funds to help children survive the disaster.In addition to actual actions during the disaster relief,Timothy also spent a lot of time in contacting local officials,and explained his reform proposals for disaster prevention through meetings with upper officials and exchanges in newspapers,but unfortunately these activities have not been answered.The third part is the third chapter,which mainly discusses the influence of missionaries' participation in disaster relief.The Shandong province was the first place in the Ding-wu disaster where Westerners,mainly missionaries,provided relief,and it was the first time that Westerners intervened in extensive way until it was regarded as the responsibility of the Qing government or local gentry.This relief not only relieved the disaster situation in Shandong,but also had some important impact on many aspects at China and the West.