Sino-Foreign Interaction Of Plague Control In Suiyuan From 1917 To 1918

In August 1917,the outbreak of plague in Suiyuan,Salaqi,successively spread to Shanxi,Zhili,Shandong,Anhui,Nanjing and other places,causing more than 16,000 deaths and causing social panic.Due to their distrust of China and avoiding the impact of the epidemic on their own expatriates and their interests in China,foreign countries have also participated in the epidemic prevention activities.At the time of the First World War,the foreign powers represented by Japan tried to expand their rights and interests in China with the help of the epidemic.The Beiyang government realized that epidemic prevention was not only an internal affair,but also related to "international audio-visual",and needed to take active actions to negotiate with foreign countries.Therefore,a series of interactions have been conducted between China and abroad around plague prevention and control.During this period,the Chinese and foreign countries made representations on measures such as setting up epidemic prevention authorities,blocking land and water transportation and raising funds for epidemic prevention.The conflict between the Chinese people and foreign epidemic personnel has also become an important part of the negotiations between China and foreign countries.In the negotiations,China has taken the initiative to some extent,protected its own rights and interests,and promoted the epidemic prevention work,but some measures have also been criticized.It is worth noting that in the face of the epidemic,both China and foreign countries have actively launched cooperation at both the official and private levels.Finally,with the joint efforts of China and foreign countries,the epidemic that spread in several provinces was effectively contained in May 1918,and the epidemic prevention work was also stopped.In general,foreign countries have played an important role in the epidemic prevention,and cooperation between China and foreign countries has weighed their differences.In addition,the epidemic prevention work is also characterized by local officials and gentry acting as the main bargaining force,foreign media and public opinion playing a huge role,and the central government playing games through the plague.