A Comparative Study of Folk Charity Activities in the Southern Song Dynasty and the Late Ming Dynasty

Abstract

The Southern Song Dynasty and the Late Ming Dynasty showed significant differences in civil charitable activities. In the Southern Song Dynasty, local elites such as scholars and gentry were the core, relying on blood and geographic networks to carry out a wide range of relief, including disaster relief, poverty alleviation, medical care, and public welfare, with a diverse range of service recipients and a wide geographic distribution, especially in remote areas to make up for the inadequacy of the official relief, and highlighting the autonomy of the local community and its ability to cope with crises. In the Late Ming, on the other hand, there was a shift towards organization and moralization, represented by the charities led by the scholars, such as the Tongshan Association, which raised funds through a membership fee system, limited their service targets to groups that met ethical standards, and concentrated their activities in the cities of the southern part of the Yangtze River, where they provided both material assistance and the dissemination of rationalistic values. The difference between the two reflects different social development conditions, while the Southern Song relied on local informal power due to weak central control, the Late Ming strengthened the moral order through institutionalized charity, reflecting the moral response of the scholars to social problems under the economic prosperity.