Abstract: Since19th century, the relationship between China and the West has been reversed, and the expansion of the West has made China in a subordinate and marginal position. Christianity and China politics will not only conflict, but also adjust under certain conditions. This kind of conflict and adjustment has different manifestations in different time and space. Christian medical service in China (hereinafter referred to as church medical service) is a special church service, which consists of church hospitals and clinics, church medicine and nurse education, and has a special relationship with modern China politics.
Keywords: late Qing government, church medical care, policy
First, tolerance under the policy of banning religion
The attitude and policy of the Qing government towards the practice of modern Christianity in China can be traced back to 1820. At that time, Ma Lixun and Livingston opened a clinic in Macau, and their practice was welcomed by local China people. In the Qing Dynasty, local governments viewed medical practice from the perspective of charity and did not interfere. The Qing government's indifference to missionary medical practice continued until the beginning of missionary medical career. Later, with the development of church medical service and the change of political environment, the attitude and policy of Qing government changed.
1835, peter parker established the xingdoulan medical bureau in Guangzhou to provide free medical care and medicine delivery, thus formally establishing the Christian medical service in China. For this missionary hospital, the local authorities in Guangzhou did not take management measures, nor did they interfere with the people who went to the hospital for medical treatment. 1838, when the China Medical Missionary Society was founded, the Qing government did not interfere. However, under the policy of banning teaching by the Qing government, the medical service of the church was greatly restricted. For example, peter parker Hospital in Guangzhou can only be attached to merchants and dare not preach openly. All these show that before 1840, the Qing government did not directly manage church medical care, but was only restricted by the Qing government's policy of banning religion. After the Opium War, foreigners obtained the right of residence in trading ports. Without the permission of China municipal government, medical missionaries have successively set up hospitals and clinics in newly established ports such as Shanghai, Xiamen and Ningbo. Local officials still adopt acquiescent attitudes and policies.
Acceptance and resistance
After the Opium War, the signing of the unequal treaties changed the attitude and policy of the Qing government towards church medical care. 1844 Sino-US Wang Xia Treaty; From 65438 to 0845, Britain and Shanghai local authorities signed the Charter of Shanghai Land Lease, and both sides obtained the right to set up hospitals in China by signing treaties. Since then, more countries have obtained the right to set up hospitals in China through treaties. Under the protection of unequal treaties, medical missionaries established a series of missionary hospitals and clinics in coastal trade ports. While undertaking treaty obligations, the Qing government still held a restrictive attitude towards church medical care and even the whole missionary cause. On the one hand, the Qing government insisted on the provisions of the treaty, limiting the medical service of the church and even the whole missionary service to trading ports, and not allowing missionaries to preach and practice medicine in the mainland. On the other hand, the Qing government still wanted to resist the unequal treaties. Under the foreign policy of "controlling foreigners by the people", local officials took advantage of the people's xenophobia and imposed more restrictions on missionaries to preach and rent land.
Three. Conflict and coordination under the treaty system
During the Second Opium War, western powers successfully amended the treaty by force. The Sino-American Treaty of Tianjin, the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin and the Sino-French Treaty of Tianjin all have relevant provisions on missionary work and the establishment of hospitals. Through the above-mentioned treaties, missionaries gained the right to preach freely in the mainland. 1860 years later, more countries signed unequal treaties with the Qing government (note: 1860 years later, after the United States, Britain, France, Sweden (Sweden) and Norway, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Austria and Japan all signed treaties with the Qing government. They not only set up hospitals at trading ports, but also went deep into non-trading ports in the mainland. As missionaries were sheltered by powerful countries, many local officials were afraid to publicly protest their breach of contract. Therefore, medical missionaries violated the provisions of the treaty and rented land at non-trading ports to build hospitals, which caused a fait accompli. Moreover, under the policy of localization of diplomacy of the Qing government, it became a privilege for missionaries to rent land and build hospitals in the mainland.
After the Second Opium War, China's modern treaty system was basically formed. From then on, the Qing government was forced to undertake treaty obligations to protect missionary work in China. When religious disputes and religious plans occurred, the Qing government often ordered local officials to protect medical missionaries and church hospitals from the perspective of fulfilling treaties and reducing disputes. At the request of western powers, some local officials also issued a notice asking the local government to protect the church hospital.
At the end of 19, the rise of the Boxer Rebellion had a great influence on the Christian policy of the Qing government, and some local officials supported the Boxer Rebellion from the perspective of xenophobia. In some places, the medical services of churches have been greatly damaged. Fourth, the special policies in the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty.
190 1 year, under the double blow of the Boxer Rebellion and Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion, the Qing government held a New Deal to survive. During the New Deal, at the request of foreign powers, the Qing government adopted a strict protection policy for missionary work, and its Christian policy changed greatly. The New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty was an important stage of China's early modernization. While implementing various new policies, the Qing government began to pay attention to its own medical and health undertakings. Local officials not only strictly protect church medical services, but also actively support them. When rebuilding destroyed missionary hospitals or building new ones, local officials will give them land lease and other support. For the needs of domestic medical and health care, officials at all levels in the late Qing Dynasty also made full use of the medical services of missionaries. For example, in order to prevent and treat diseases, officials at all levels seek the support of church hospitals in the official name.
During the period of1835-1911,the attitude and policy of the Qing government towards the medical service of the church changed several times, and finally the basic policy of protection-support-utilization was formed. Of course, this is related to China people's understanding of foreign cultures and the foreign policy of the Qing government, but more importantly, it is the result of western forces and the spread of western learning to the east. Because the Qing government's open acceptance and protection of church medical care was forced by unequal treaties, it also branded church medical care with colonialism. Of course, we should also see that church medical care is a kind of charitable missionary service, which is very practical and has relatively little contact with political thought. Therefore, the support and utilization of church medical services reflects the pragmatic attitude of the Qing government in the absence of modern cultural resources. This is also the reason why the Qing government adopted special policies on church medical care in some aspects. However, the Qing government failed to restrict and manage the church medical services from the perspective of protecting medical and health sovereignty, which was not only the product of China's semi-colonization, but also showed that the Qing government lacked understanding of national rights in medical and health care. All these determined the special relationship between the church medical service and the late Qing government.