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The Geographical Distribution of Floods and Droughts in Chinese History, 206 B.C.–A.D. 1911*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

Yao Shan-yu
Yao Shan-yu
Affiliation:
University of California
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Extract

Throughout history floods and droughts have undoubtedly been the two greatest natural scourges of China. Being thus far primarily an agricultural nation with a close dependence upon nature, China's concern with floods and droughts is clearly understandable.

As is generally well known among sinologists, China has a heritage of unbroken recorded history, covering a period of approximately three millennia. Partly owing to the important role floods and droughts played in the life of the nation and partly because of the supernatural significance attached to the occurrence of these phenomena, numerous instances of floods and droughts have been recorded usually with definite dates and places.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , August 1943 , pp. 357 - 378
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1943

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References

1 According to the famous Han Confucian Tung Chung-shu (179?–104? B.C.), there exists in the universe a delicate state of balance between nature and human activity. Improper human acts, especially the conduct of the Emperor, destroy this balance. Such abnormal phenomena as floods, droughts, etc. are merely mechanical responses to improper human behavior. In order to understand the rulership and the history of the nation, Chinese historians, therefore, recorded these “strange phenomena” in the dynastic histories and other historical works.

2 The seven references are: (1) Hosie, Alexander, “Droughts in China, A.D. 620 to 1643,” Journal of the north China branch of the royal Asiatic society, 12 (1878), 51–98.Google Scholar This is a careful compilation, but Hosie did not analyse his data. (2) Hosie, Alexander, “Floods in China, 630–1630,” China review, 7 (1878–1879), 371–72.Google Scholar Only a total of 70 entries are listed. (3) Chu, Co-ching, “Climatic pulsations during historic times in China,” Geographical review, 16 (1926), 274–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar This is significant for its study of the climatic changes through the period A.D. 100–1600. No new material in regard to floods and droughts is added in his later article, “Climatic changes during historic times in China,” Journal of the north China branch of the royal Asiatic society, 62 (1931), 32–40. (4). Ting, V. K., “Notes on the records of droughts and floods in Shensi and the supposed desiccation of N.W. China,” Hyllningsskrift tillägnad Sven Hedin (Stockholm, 1925), pp. 453–62.Google Scholar It is based on the materials from the Gazetteer of Shensi, and covers the period A.D. 200–1700. The author combats convincingly E. Huntington's hypothesis that Central Asia must at one time have enjoyed a much greater rainfall than it does now; also Arthur C. Sowerby's allegation that North China was actually invaded by the desert conditions of Central Asia, and the general impression that Shensi and Kansu are getting drier. Ting's conclusions, independently reached, agree well with the findings of the present writer in a former article, in which it has been said that “no definite evidence is available to show the increasing aridity of China.” [See Shan-yu, Yao, “The chronological and seasonal distribution of floods and droughts in Chinese history, 206 B.C.-A.D. 1911,” Harvard journal of Asiatic studies, 6 (Feb. 1942), 293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar] (5) Chen, Ta, Chinese migration, with special reference to labor conditions (Washington, D.C., 1923), pp. 9–10.Google Scholar It lists some 62 instances of droughts during the period from 1369 to 1596 in the four provinces of Hopei, Shantung, Fukien, and Kwangtung. (6) Mallory, W. H., China land of famine (New York, 1926), pp. 41–43.Google Scholar The data were taken from Hosie's “Droughts in China,” and Chu's “Climatic pulsations.” (7) Yün-t'e, Teng, Chung-kuo chiu-huang shih [A history of famine relief in China] (Shanghai, 1937), pp. 52–59.Google Scholar While this contains some material of his own, parts of it come from Co-ching Chu's “Climatic pulsations.”

3 Harvard journal of Asiatic studies, 6 (1942), 273–312.

4 Five tests have been used in ascertaining the completeness of the data. They are: (1) by the use of the remarks in the drought sections of the T'u-shu chi-ch'eng, which occasionally mention floods; (2) by the use of the “Dynastic annals” (pen-chi) in the Ming shih [Ming history] and the Ch'ing shih kao; (3) by the use of other existing records, such as the China year book, etc.; (4) by the use of statistical analysis; and (5) by the use of common observations of flood and drought curves.

5 For instance, the floods mentioned in the Ch'ien Hanshu [History of the former Han dynasty] under the years 78 B.C. and 66 B.C. are not recorded by the T'u-shu chi-ch'eng. The writer, however, has not yet done any extensive checking on this point.

6 Kendrew, W. G., “Climate,” in Buxton, L. H. Dudley, China, the land and the people (Oxford, 1929), pp. 299–303.Google Scholar

7 Ibid., pp. 299–303.

8 Chi, Ch'ao-ting, Key economic areas in Chinese history as revealed in the development of public works for water control (London, 1936), pp. 134–35.Google Scholar

9 Based on a statistical study by the present writer of the relationship between floods and droughts in Chinese history.

10 Cressey, George Babcock, China'a geographic foundations, a survey of the land and its people (New York, 1934), p. 314.Google Scholar

11 Ibid., p. 318.

12 Ibid., p. 310.

13 Ibid., p. 46.

14 Mallory, op. cit., pp. 40–42.

15 Chi, Li, The formation of the Chinese people: an anthropological inquiry (Cambridge, Mass., 1928), p. 57.Google Scholar

16 Ibid., p. 98.

17 No fixed percentages can be assigned either to “high” or “low” category. In some cases, a percentage as high as 10%, say, may be considered high, if most of others are around 4 or 5%. On the other hand, if only a few other provinces have recorded percentages, each having, say, 30 or 40%, then 10%, may be regarded as low. The classification as given here is admittedly rough, and in a few cases, unstable.