Research And Relief In Hunan In The Song Dynasty Famine

There were lots of natural disasters in Hunan Province during Song Dynasty. Mostof them associated with other destructive consequences. These disasters tended todisturb or destroy economic development and social stability if they were not handledproperly. During Song Dynasty, the whole society and economy in Hunan province keptdeveloping because of the complete system of disaster relief which helped to deal withnatural disasters, protect people’s lives, and restore social and political order. It isnecessary for us to learn from ancient people in the matter of disaster prevention andrelief.According to approximate statistics, many kinds of disasters happened in Hunanprovince during this period, and flooding and drought were two of them that occurredfrequently. These disasters had a tremendous impact on the overall economy andpolitics, and they not only did damage to farm animals, the destruction of farmland, andreduction of output, but the death of people, even peasant’s uprisings, all of thisseriously affected the development of social productive forces and social stability.Confronting the threat of a wide variety of disasters, the government had takenmany measures to prevent and cope with them. As for disaster prevention, thegovernment built water conservancy projects, encouraged farmers to plantdrought-resistant crops, and constructed and maintained barns. After the disasters, ittook different means to assist people who suffered, such as encouraging the rich to helpthe unfortunate people, providing free medicine, offering soup and porridge，and someeconomic measures to reduce or suspend the taxes.Although the government was the dominant force in terms of disaster preventionand relief, the gentry as local leaders to integrate civil resources played an increasinglyimportant role at this moment. Local officials and local squires positively took part inrelief actions, then an interactive mode formed between state and society. Of course, inthe government and disaster relief, disaster relief to victims of the gentry, self-help alsoplay an important role in.