Study On Famine Relief In Guizhou From 1912 To 1937

In the early period of the Republic of China,there were frequent wars between warlords and social unrest in Guizhou.In addition,the natural ecological environment of Guizhou was extremely fragile,and natural disasters such as floods,droughts,hail,and freezing continued.Frequent natural disasters and warlord wars are intertwined,leading to frequent famines in Guizhou,and disasters lead to famines.Famines have destroyed the economic development of Guizhou,impacted social order,and intensified social contradictions.This article uses archives,newspapers,local chronicles of the Republic of China and other documents and historical materials to conduct in-depth research on the famine relief in Guizhou in the early period of the Republic of China.Focus on the traditional famine relief activities such as gentry,shantang shanhui and yicang;the relief activities of modern charitable organizations such as Guizhou Branch of China International Famine Relief Commission and Shanghai Fundraising Guizhou Disaster Relief Association;as well as the relief activities of Guizhou local government.Pay attention to the impact of famine relief on social development in Guizhou.During this period,new changes and new developments occurred in the relief services in Guizhou.While various charitable organizations in Guizhou took various measures to relieve the famine,they also introduced modern disaster relief ideas,concepts and organizational systems,and creatively proposed medical relief ideas based on the actual disaster situation in Guizhou.It has accelerated the modernization process of Guizhou’s relief services.From the vertical time dimension,this paper investigates the Guizhou relief service in the early period of the Republic of China into the historical process of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,summarizes the laws of development and changes,and explores the transformation of the Guizhou relief service;from the horizontal space dimension,Guizhou charitable organizations are placed in the national charitable organization.Research on the development and changes of organizations,and examine the joint interaction between charitable organizations inside and outside the province;put the cooperation between private charitable organizations and the local government of Guizhou into specific relief activities for research,and explore the path of cooperative disaster relief.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the full text consists of six chapters.Chapter one summarizes the general situation of natural disasters in Guizhou in the early Period of the Republic of China,and analyzes their characteristics and impacts.The reasons for the frequent occurrence of natural disasters in Guizhou in the early period of the Republic of China were analyzed in detail from the perspectives of natural environment and social environment,and the characteristics of natural disasters were summarized.At the same time,the impact of natural disasters on the life,economic development and social order of guizhou victims was also discussed.The second chapter analyzes the rescue activities of traditional disaster relief subjects.In daily life,Guizhou people use the disaster culture accumulated by their ancestors in coexistence with disasters to prevent and reduce disasters,and help themselves with the experience handed down from generation to generation in the process of famine.The gentry were either directly involved in disaster relief or used Shantang Shanhui to relieve the victims.As an important measure to store grain and prepare for famine,the granary is affected by the change of market grain price in the city,mainly in the form of flat sale;In the villages with differential order pattern,disaster relief is mainly in the form of savings and loans;Due to the attention of local governments and civil society,the granary has played a role in stabilizing the society.Chapter 3 investigates the situation of disaster relief by modern charitable organizations.The Guizhou Branch of China International Famine Relief Commission was established by charitable organizations and philanthropists in Guizhou province to provide relief to disaster-stricken people.It drew on the organizational structure and operational mechanisms of the headquarter and became the largest and most influential modern charitable organization in Guizhou at that time.It successively carried out emergency relief efforts,introduced the concept of disaster relief in infrastructure development by constructing Guizhou’s first road,and innovatively proposed the idea of medical relief by establishing a relief hospital for practical implementation.The Shanghai Fundraising Association for Guizhou Disaster Relief was another important modern charitable organization dedicated to providing relief during the Guizhou famine.The local government of Guizhou province extensively publicized the extent of the disaster in Shanghai and other places to raise funds.Various charitable organizations and philanthropists in Shanghai jointly established the Shanghai Fundraising Association for Guizhou Disaster Relief to raise funds and actively engaged in cross-regional disaster relief efforts in the affected areas of Guizhou.Chapter four studies the relief activities of Guizhou local government.During the warlord period,the local government of Guizhou relieved the victims mainly through emergency relief,which was characterized by diversified relief subjects,single relief measures and little funds.After the Nationalist government ruled Guizhou,the Relief Committee of Guizhou province was reorganized,improved its organizational system and operation mechanism,and successively handled relief activities such as collecting grain,providing emergency relief,purchasing rice to soothe the soul price and setting up irrigation projects.Chapter 5 analyzes the new developments and transformations in the relief work in Guizhou.For the first time,Guizhou charitable organizations interacted with charitable organizations from outside the province.Various charitable organizations within Guizhou province joined together to form a unified charitable organization for providing relief to disaster-stricken people,actively seeking external support.Charitable organizations from outside the province also joined forces to raise funds for the relief efforts in Guizhou.As a result,there was joint interaction between charitable organizations from within and outside the province.The Guizhou branch of China International Famine Relief Commission and the Shanghai Fundraising Association for Guizhou Disaster Relief emphasized collaboration with the local government of Guizhou,employing both bilateral collaboration and cross-regional relief efforts,which promoted the development of relief activities.From 1912 to 1937,the relief work in Guizhou underwent a transition from being predominantly led by grassroots charitable organizations to being government-led.This transformation in Guizhou’s relief work reflects the general pattern of relief work transformation in China.Chapter 6 examines the impact of disaster relief on Guizhou from various perspectives.From a political history perspective,it studies how warlord Zhou Xicheng took advantage of the crisis caused by the ineffective disaster relief efforts of warlord Peng Hanzhang’s government to achieve a transfer of power.From an economic history perspective,it investigates how disaster relief efforts,including road construction,led to a surge in infrastructure development and strengthened the urban-rural connectivity in Guizhou.The construction of agricultural water conservancy projects facilitated rural economic development and brought about new changes in the agricultural industry structure.From a social history perspective,it explores how the people of Guizhou prioritized afforestation as a means of preventing water and drought disasters,achieving ecological and economic benefits from the forests.However,the population movement of disaster victims also facilitated ethnic integration in Guizhou,although the quality of the population decreased after the disasters.During the process of disaster relief,land concentration increased,reinforcing the dependence of affected farmers and tenants on their landlords and intensifying social control.