潮汕民间善堂组织的历史嬗变

The Historical Evolution of the Charity Hall in Chaoshan Area

潮汕民间善堂组织广泛兴起于清末社会矛盾日益激化的时期,其大规模建立是绅商阶层以民间信仰为依托联合民众进行自救的结果。民国时期,潮汕民间善堂开始向农村地区辐射并向东南亚华人社会传播,其分布范围更广、组织规模更大、开展的慈善活动也更加丰富多样。新中国成立以后潮汕民间善堂曾一度停办。改革开放以来,在本地民众及海外华侨的推动下,这些慈善组织陆续恢复并逐渐向现代社团组织转型。

There was a widespread upsurge of charity halls in the Chaoshan area during the period of the late Qing Dynasty when the social conflictswere intensified. It was an effect of the joint self-help of gentlemen, merchants and common people on the basis of folk religion. In the Republicanperiod, charity halls spread to rural areas and Southeast Asian Chinese communities with a wider scale, bigger organizations and more diversifiedcharity activities. After the founding of the P.R.C, the development of charity halls of Chaoshan area were once suspended. But since the reform andopening up to the outside world, thanks to the promotion of local people and overseas Chinese, those charity halls have been resumed andtransformed gradually to modern social organizations.