Han Dynasty Relief Thought

In this article, the author systematically analyses and summarizes the disaster-relieving ideas in the dynasties of West Han and East Han.First, the situation of disasters of the two dynasties is surveyed. In the history of China, the two Han dynasties are those when there was systematical historical literature on natural disasters. On the basis of previous analysis, the main natural disasters of that time are summed up and explored, their main characteristics and influences are analyzed,People's thinking is characteristic of the specific era they belong to, having distinct features of the times. People of the Han dynasties had their own understanding of natural disasters, and gave their own explanations, which were "reasonable" in their times. In the second part, besides a summary of the main schools of ideas about disasters of that time, an object, scientific analysis of the real cause of the disasters is also given.The third and the forth parts, the main parts of the article, deal with the disaster-relieving ideas of the two dynasties. Then Confucianism was the only worship and the foundation of administering the country. Besides this historical background, Confucianism itself also contains ideas of disaster relief. Also, at that time Dong Zhongshu, a representative of the Confucian School, introduced the idea of disasters and strange happenings into Confucianism. All these factors contributed to the fact that the disaster-relieving problem was colored with Confucianism, which guided disaster-relieving activities. When faced with disasters, the upper governors used to quote Confucian classics, follow the suggestions of "Doctors" of Confucianism, and even worship its doctrines as magic cure for disasters. Lower governors, out of their own political aims, submitted statements one after another expressing their view of relieving disasters with the help of doctrines of Confucianism. The combination ofConfucianism and disaster relief helped governors to well organize the disaster relief activities; meanwhile, it contributed to reconstruction and development of Confucianism itself, and greatly enriched its ideological connotation. Under the general spiritual guide of Confucianism, the disaster-relieving ideas of the two Han dynasties, on the basis of historical inheritance, developed to a higher stage, and fell into the following opinions: opinion of quelling a disaster with prayer, opinion of stopgap measures in the course of a disaster, opinion of remedy after a disaster, and opinion of precaution before a disaster, etc. In the article, the author discusses and evaluates the idea of relieving disasters with a belief in the mandate of heaven, explores specific measures of disaster relief such as aid, grain allocation, economy and loan, and probes as an emphasis the views of repertory, storage, irrigation works, forestry and land reclamation, and high attention to agriculture, showing their great theoretical value and realistic significance.The ending part of the article gives a summarizing review and understanding of the disaster-relieving ideas of the Han dynasties: regarding from the point of view of national conditions, these ideas dated from the vulnerable small-scale peasant economy; in the aspect of development of theory itself, these ideas serve as a link between the past and the future; with regard to specific measures of disaster relief, the vies of taking precautions are highly significant. Whether the good ideas were effectively put to practice is also dealt with.