Multi-dimensional Social Capital Integration and the Genesis of Modern Female Philanthropic Organizations: A Case Study on the Cantonese “Gong-yi Female School” in the Late Qing Dynasty
WU Huanyu
School of Sociology and Political Science, Shanghai University
Abstract：Unlike previous studies on modern philanthropy in the late Qing Dynasty, which were mostly limited to male organizations, this paper selects the Cantonese “Gong-yi (Public Charity) Female School” as a case study. It is found that the vast majority of women devoted themselves to public welfare at that time were born from the gentry class. The relational social capital based on kinship, academic ties and social class and the cognitive social capital based on understanding, appreciation and trust were deeply integrated into the same group of kindred people. This produced a relatively free and inclusive “parallel world” for the aspiring women, who were not accepted by the mainstream society at that time—not only the most ready-made organizational support for them at the beginning, but also the most critical anti-risk system for its survival and further development. This article then puts forward the viewpoint of multi-dimensional social capital integration to explain the genesis mechanism of modern Chinese women's public charity organizations. In fact, such a network of relatives and friends integrating multi-dimensional social capital widely existed in the texture of modern China's reform, an area which needs to be deepened and expanded by further empirical studies in the future.
武洹宇. 多维社会资本交融与近代女性公益组织的生发——以清末广州“公益女学堂”为例[J]. 浙江工商大学学报, 2022, 36(5): 30-40.
WU Huanyu. Multi-dimensional Social Capital Integration and the Genesis of Modern Female Philanthropic Organizations: A Case Study on the Cantonese “Gong-yi Female School” in the Late Qing Dynasty. Journal of Zhejing Gongshang University, 2022, 36(5): 30-40.
2022, Vol. 36 
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