12 August 2007
In China's Qing dynasty about 260 years ago, destructive floods devastated homes and livelihoods in northern Jiangsu province. Without the benefit of modern technology or telecommunications, the Sino-Manchu bureaucracy put in place standard relief procedures that would meet the needs of over 800,000 flood victims in three counties alone, according to the detailed information that is available.
What happened in China in 1746 is a lesson for New Orleans and other places in today's world when disaster strikes, said Helen Dunstan, Professor of Chinese Studies, delivering a lecture to the University's Arts Association.
She said some people would find imperial Chinese governance "surprisingly modern". The authorities engaged in rational and quantitative planning, based on an effective relationship between state and society, and they had ideas that would have won approval from the foremost welfare economist of the late twentieth century.
She argued, however, that comments such as "Weren't they modern!" reflect a naïve and Eurocentric understanding of modernity. Here, on the contrary, was a premodern administration implementing relief procedures that would put to shame many a modern government.
The story of the 1746 floods "reminds us that the commitment and capacity to save lives on a vast scale were no less a triumph of premodern Chinese civilisation than Tang poetry and porcelain", she said. In a world that does not seem to be postmodern, but whose islands of prosperity are threatened by massive ecological collapse, it would not be a bad idea to redefine civilisation to include rational disaster-preparedness and institutionally-based humanitarianism, she said.
She highlighted the thoughtfulness of some aspects of flood relief policy during the 1740s — particularly those focusing on marginal members of local communities, and on displaced peasant families. The Chinese lesson for New Orleans, she said, was to recognise the importance of subaltern-class individuals who might lose their current foothold in society. Recognition of their importance should be embodied in intelligent measures to provide appropriate protection.
The premodern Chinese government's commitment to the economic survival of the weakest members of society was institutionalised long before the foundation of the modern welfare state. In a world in which socialism is largely out of fashion, this commitment could provide inspiration for a revived sense of government responsibility towards the vulnerable.
Contact: Claudia Liu
Phone: 02 9351 3191