Lost in Translation: Local Relief Provision and Historiographical Imperialism

The historiographical record of charity, both visual and written, has long been appropriated by philanthro-imperialists intent on using material aid to further their own agendas. International actors committed to bringing their own priorities and prerogatives with them overseas have ignored or intentionally erased accounts of local, particularly non-Western, humanitarian and charitable initiatives. In some contexts, local communities have also chosen to erase their own charitable history. This article uncovers one such hidden charitable tradition, that of pre-Maoist China. I discuss indigenous Chinese charitable work and its interplay with Western charitable actors and activities at the turn of the twentieth century, at the height of the New Imperialism (c. 1870–1914) to explore two little-recognized facets of the relationship between charity and imperialism: the erasure of local traditions of charity in the annals of imperialist powers and the importance of language in the preservation and validation of these traditions.