Chongzhen Years Jiangnan Famine And Response

In Ming Dynasty, the Chinese land was ravaged by disasters and famine. The situation was even worse during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen. The disasters and famine in the late Ming Dynasty could be clearly perceived through what it was in the Southern area of Yangtze River during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen. In view of this, the thesis is going to take the disasters and famine in the Southern area of Yangtze River during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen and the countermeasures as the objects of study. The author is going to apply historiography, statistics, catastrophology and other related disciplines so as to make a multi-level and multi-angle analysis of the general situation, causes and effects of the disasters and famine and to discuss the measures the government and the common people took in dealing with them. The emphasis is put on the approaches and measures that the people took in coping with the disasters and famine.The thesis can be divided into four chapters. The first chapter makes an analysis of the spacial and temporal distribution of the natural disasters such as flood, drought, locust, tide, epidemic, windstorm, hail and earthquake along with famine. It is assumed that disasters and famine in this period are featured by diversity, concurrency, frequency, continuation and extensiveness. The second chapter probes into the causes which led to the disasters and famine during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen in the Southern area of Yangtze River. Then, the effects of the disasters and famine are discussed in Chapter three from the perspective of economy, livelihood and social order. The last chapter discusses the way to deal with the disasters and famine. It is pointed out that the local government and the common people played an irreplaceable role under the circumstance of the central government’s inability.