Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyze the history of epidemics in the ancient world and comprehend their consequences relating to the emergence of salvation religions. The relevance of the study is due to the need to comprehend the historical experience of managing social processes in complex epidemiological situations and developing the response of Russian society to the new great challenges associated with the spread of epidemics of dangerous diseases. The novelty of the study lies in the originality of the hypothesis, according to which several social institutions and related forms of social consciousness appear in the conditions of challenge to society from epidemics and symbolize a form of social response to these challenges. The study was conducted using written historical sources, primarily the works of ancient pagan and Christian historians, as well as the latest scientific research on the history of epidemics in the ancient world, carried out by modern historians. During the study, the following methods of historical knowledge were used: problem-chronological, historical-genetic, historical-typological, historical-comparative, historical-systematic. The theoretical basis of the study is the methodology of global history. The conclusions of the study are as follows. Epidemics have always been a challenge for any society, forcing it to seek an appropriate form of response. A distinctive feature of the epidemics of the ancient world was that they not only inflicted enormous damage on existing social systems and political institutions, but also gave birth to new forms of religiosity. The epidemic of the “Athenian plague” of the fifth century BC contributed to the decline of the Athenian maritime empire, bringing to life a new religious cult - the cult of Asclepius, the god of healing, which had become the salvation religion of the Greeks before the arrival of Christianity. The “Antonine Plague” and the “Cyprian Plague” (2nd–3rd centuries) caused a crisis in the Roman Empire, contributing to the spread of Christianity in the Mediterranean. The “Justinian plague” (6th–8th centuries) contributed to the undermining of the power of the Byzantine Empire and the collapse of the Persian Empire, the disappearance of Christianity and the spread of Islam in the Middle East.

Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyze the history of sanitary reforms in East Asia on the territory of two European enclaves (Hong Kong and Shanghai), which became important centers of transit of Western public health theories and practices to China in the second half of XIX - first half of XX centuries. The relevance of the research is conditioned by the necessity of understanding the historical experience of social processes management in complex epidemiological situations and development of Russian society response to new big challenges, connected with epidemic spreading. The novelty of the study consists in clarifying the existing scientific picture of the formation of modern public health management institutions in East Asia during the period from the beginning of European expansion into China to the Japanese invasion. The study was conducted in 2022 using primary sources from digital libraries in London (Wellcome Collection), Hong Kong (Digital Repository of Hong Kong University), and Shanghai (Virtual Shanghai), as well as works by Western and Chinese historians on public health and sanitation in Asia. During the study methods of historical knowledge were used: problem-chronological, comparative-historical, historical-typological. Methodology of social history of public health became the theoretical base of research. The conclusions of the study are as follows. Sanitary reforms began in those parts of East Asia where European influence was strong. At the forefront of the reforms were the British colony of Hong Kong and the international settlements in Shanghai, where Europeans had to adapt to the difficult conditions of climate, the burden of infectious diseases, and constant overcrowding. Rationalizing the management of urban space, they did not try to offer their way of life to the Chinese population, seeing them as culturally backward and unable to assimilate such civilizational achievements as sewage and running water, but under the pressure of economic and epidemiological 6 needs this step was taken. As a result, by the end of the 1930s, Hong Kong and Shanghai had become prosperous cities with relatively good sanitary and epidemiological conditions