An Analysis Of The Development Of Folk Philanthropy In Jiangnan During The Ming And Qing Dynasties

Traditional philanthropy in China has a long history.As early as the pre-Qin period,a series of measures of "respecting the old and caring for the young" and temporary famine relief policies were initiated,but institutionalized and organized philanthropy organizations appeared in the Wei Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties.Since then,a large number of government-run charities have emerged nearly a century.Official philanthropy has always occupied a dominant position.while folk philanthropy is supplemented by sporadic private assistance,clan assistance and religious relief.During the Ming and Qing dynasties,the true meaning of the folk philanthropy organizations appeared in people's vision.The folk charitable organizations in the late Ming dynasty were initiated by local elites including degree holders and those who had held government posts.This is fundamentally different from the previous state-run aid agencies,whose funding sources and philanthropic spirit are relatively new.The emergence and prosperity of the folk philanthropy during the Ming and Qing dynasties made it an important force outside the official philanthropy,and it also symbolized the heyday of the philanthropy in ancient China.The author intends to start from the two aspects of the objective factors of the rise of folk philanthropy and the subjective causes of the charitable groups,and specifically discuss the evolution of folk philanthropy in Jiangnan area during the Ming and Qing dynasties,so as to reveal the inevitability and influence of the emergence of folk philanthropy organizations in this period.In terms of its objective level,frequent natural disasters and prominent social problems in the Ming dynasty can be regarded as one of the reasons for the germination of folk philanthropy.The government actively encouraged the folk forces to participate in the relief of natural disasters,and applied the method of "Quan fen jing biao"(encouraging people to participate in relief)to the relief measures of natural disasters,which indirectly promoted the development of the folk philanthropy.With the rapid development of commodity economy in the Ming dynasty,new economic factors also prompted a new transformation of social forces,and the material foundation of folk philanthropy increased continuously.The development of regional charity activities represented by the Guild hall also plays a good role in promoting the development of folk philanthropy.As far as subjective factors are concerned,Chinese traditional ideology and culture contains rich ideas of philanthropy and relief,which plays a vital role in guiding the emergence and development of traditional philanthropy.By the 16th century,the idea of morality books was very popular.It was accepted by the whole society because of its easy acceptance of concepts,easy-to-understand language,diverse forms of education,and concern for social reality.In addition,the positive use of feudal rulers made it both on thought and form have gained a big following in the entire social group,it has played a role that cannot be ignored in the social education during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.It also created a solid mass foundation for the folk philanthropy this period.In addition,local elites actively participate in local affairs and take the initiative to act as founders,donors and managers of non-governmental charitable organizations.Therefore,the institutionalized folk philanthropy organizations in the late Ming dynasty were born under the combined action of the above factors.Under the enthusiastic activities of local elites,the folk philanthropy was gradually radiated from theYangtze River Delta to the whole country and became a highlight in the social history of the Ming and Qing dynasties.To the early years of YongZheng period in Qing Dynasty,the nature of the folk philanthropy organization gradually changed.The charitable organizations in this period were very different from the charitable activities in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties that relied entirely on the implementation of folk power.Whether in terms of human or financial resources,both are closely related to the official power,that is,the so-called folk philanthropy of the author is gradually becoming "bureaucratic." In fact,the philanthropy initiated and carried out by the folk forces in a real sense only lasted for nearly a hundred years,but its influence on the China's philanthropy is immeasurable.Therefore,this paper attempts to discuss the germination,development and subsequent transformation of folk philanthropy in Jiangnan area during the Ming and Qing dynasties from the above aspects,in order to re-examine the evolution process of folk philanthropy,which will also be conducive to the continuous development and enrichment of the eravalue of charity.