A Study On Cultivation Of The Chinese Citizens’ Charity Awareness

Citizens’awareness of charity is not only a prerequisite for the development of charity, but also very important to social management, moral reconstruction, building of a harmonious society and citizens’ livelihood as well as happiness.Traditional charity awareness in China, based on Confucian thought on charity, centered on the rational charity awareness of the "Government-oriented Charity" and resorted to citizens’compassion as ethical motivation. Socio-cultural realities in the transitional period, economic and political mistakes which has been made since the founding of New China have misled Chinese citizen over the essence of charity, the relationship between charity and government, charity and charity organization.Chinese citizens in the modern age regard Non-governmental charity as the first attribute of charity awareness, people’s compassion as ethical motivation, and charity organization as the implementing body. The key to cultivation of the citizens’awareness of charity is to delineate the boundaries between the public power and the civil rights. The participants of the charitable activities should take up their duties. Government should provide public services and establish cooperative relations with charity organizations. Media, in a position of both supervisor and propagandist, should deal with charity impartially. Schools should focus on both the universal educational goal and individual differences when raising students’charity awareness. Families should set good examples of harmony and stability to influence their children and other families.