明清以来的疫病应对与历史省思

明清时期,国家对疫病救疗虽有行动,但缺乏制度上的规定,日渐兴起的民间社会力量发挥了重要的作用。近代以降,国家逐渐建立了现代卫生防疫机制,应对疫病的观念也日渐积极。这些启示我们:第一,国家对救疫在制度上的缺失,既反映了传统国家在统治理念上缺乏对民众生命的真正关怀,同时也是承认自身能力不足的务实之举;第二,利用日渐兴起的民间社会力量,不仅有助于实际的疫病救疗,而且也实现了官民之间的良性互补;第三,现代卫生防疫机制的引建,实际也是国家权力的扩展与深化,虽然意义重大,但需充分重视其限度;第四,应历史和人文地认识传统时期多元的疫病和防疫观念;第五,畅达而有效的信息传递对于瘟疫的防治至关重要。

Reflections on Epidemic Control in Chinese History since Ming-Qing Times

In Ming-Qing China,the state exercised a limited role in epidemic relief,primarily through channeling the power of the emerging civic society,for such efforts were not yet institutionalized.In modern China,the state has assumed a more interventionist role and gradually established a modern system of public health and disease control in order to strengthen the nation.This leads us to believe:1.The lack of epidemic relief system indicates not only the lack of interest of the traditional government in China in protecting its people,but also the limited capacity of state power;2.Utilizing the rising civil power will not only contribute to the actual process of epidemic relief but also generate a benign mechanism in which state and civil society complement each other;3.The introduction of the modern system of public health and disease control comes with an expansion of the state s power,It was a significant development;yet one has to be vigilant of excessive expansion;4.We should pay attention to the diverse views on epidemic and its control in history from a humanistic perspective;5.It is vital for the epidemic control to ensure a smooth and effective information flow.