What is Philanthropy?

Philanthropy is a social public welfare benefit to society and the crowd, and a necessary supplement to the government-led social security system. It is a kind of selfless support and dedication by the government's advocacy, help, and support. Voluntary organizations and individuals organize and carry out activities for people who encounter disasters or misfortunes in society. cause. Philanthropy is actually a form of social redistribution.

Charity

Compared with other countries in the world, Chinese philanthropy has the following characteristics: 1. Charitable ideas have a long history; 2. Charitable activities are closely related to superstructures; 3. Modern philanthropy has been developed under the influence of the West; 4. Contemporary philanthropy started late.

Philanthropy was an important part of a society, reflecting some of the conditions of society at the time. Throughout the history of Chinese philanthropy, one can glimpse one aspect of Chinese society. Specifically, there are the following aspects:

1. There was no tradition of western welfare states in ancient China. Some official policies and activities with charitable benefits are for the sake of maintaining the rule, rather than treating her as a social cause, and these policies and activities are for the sake of people, and they are abolished by people. Civil philanthropy is also based on the moral compassion inherent in human nature.

Second, the gender status in ancient China was very unequal. During the Han and Tang dynasties, due to the rigorous maneuvering of men and the enslavement of men, and the growing up of males, they needed to analyze the family property, which easily put their family in a dilemma. Therefore, the style of drowning a baby boy prevailed. The influence of drowning baby girls is blazing again.

Third, the disintegration of traditional moral concepts. Judging from the Yangjiyuan of the Ming Dynasty, the corruption and fraud of public officials is a prominent phenomenon. The Qing Emperor repeatedly issued decrees to promote the Yangjiyuan charity cause, and the management system is becoming more and more stringent, and the prevention of fraud and corruption by public officials has been continuously strengthened. This is a negative explanation of the Yangjiyuan at this time. The accumulated disadvantages have been deepened, and the corruption caused in the operation process is very common, and it is becoming more and more intensive, and it also reflects the decline of traditional moral concepts.

Fourth, changes in social classes. Before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shang Jia's status in charity was not prominent, but during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen played an extremely important role in social charity activities. This reflects the improvement of the social status of businessmen. The improvement of the social status of the merchants at the "last" of the Four Peoples also reflects the increasingly shaken dominance of Confucians in Chinese feudal society.

From ancient China's philanthropy, we can also glimpse the disparity between rich and poor in ancient Chinese society, as well as marriage and funeral.

According to Forbes China Charity Rich List data, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Liaoning, and Beijing are the five regions with the largest number of people on the list. The number of people on the list accounts for 59% of the total. Donation area. Among them, 21 rich people in Guangdong entered the list, with a total donation of 1.64 billion yuan. ^[2]