Research On The Relations Between The Exploration And The Disasters Of The Northwest Agriculture During The Qin & Han Dynasties

Qin & Han Dynasty was the first period during which people migrated into and developed northwest area on a large scale in Chinese ancient history. The first Qin emperor and Han wudi have been praised for the prosperity that they got for so long. At the same time this period was also an era of continual calamities. Are there any relations between them? Opinions vary in academia. Based on former researches, by combing through Shiji,Hanshu ,Houhanshu, and bamboo slips excavated, this paper fully examines northwest agricultural exploration, analyses and probes into the relations and mutual influences between exploration and calamities. Environmental problems caused by northwest agricultural exploration in Qin & Han Dynasties, such as flow-away of water and soil, desertification of earth, shortage of water, and so on, are to be speculated more deeply in today's northern development.Firstly, during Qin & Han dynasty northwest area was desert and underpopulated, and the expanding of Hun and other minorities threatened the middle dynasty. They had to garrison heavy armies in northwest to stand against Hun, and because of restricted traffic they also had to migrate to and station troops there to ensure food support, and also to ease up contradiction between population and soil and solve the livelihood of large numbers of calamitous victims.Secondly, because of estrepement, denudation, repeated alternation of cultivating and stockbreeding, and irrational usage of water resource, calamities took place frequently in the whole of Yellow River valley, which did very harm to people's producing and living.Thirdly, impacted by calamities, smallholder economy got struck. which made these victims flow from east to west, north to south in order to survive. The population flow negatively balanced regional economic progress in Han Dynasty. But as lots of victims went to south from the metaphase of Han Dynasty, southern economy accelerated, so as to make early preparation for the southward move of economic center.Finally, these calamities not only destroyed economy but also influenced rise and fall of dynasty. Besides that, calamitous impacts on Han's thinking and culture can not be neglected, which changed social ethos from pioneer to lost and decadent. Then influenced by this background, the"Wei & Jin Style"stepped into history gradually...