In the eighth year of Qianlong, 11,400 people died in 12 days of heat, how hot was the hottest summer in history?
In the eighth year of Qianlong, it was a hot summer. During this period of history, people experienced a shocking natural disaster, with 11,400 people dying in 12 days from the heat. This summer is known in history"The hottest summer"We can't help but ask, what kind of heat is it that has taken so many lives?
In this fascinating story, we have been Qianlong for eight years"The hottest summer", revealing climate anomalies and livelihood challenges. How did this natural disaster cause such a huge tragedy of the heat? How have people responded to this historic moment? Let's walk into this hot and difficult history and explore what has been covered up for years"The hottest summer"The truth.
Unprecedented heat is coming.
On July 14, 1743, a heat wave swept through the ancient capital of Beijing and its environs. For 12 days from this day, the city of Beijing burned during the day, and the entire street was exposed to the scorching sun. On July 25, the heat wave peaked, with a maximum temperature in Beijing reaching an unimaginable 444 degrees Celsius.
It's hard to imagine how the ancient city struggled to survive in the 44-degree heat of 1743, when there was neither electricity nor modern air conditioning12. In ancient texts, we can read about how people used it"**Flowing from the top"with"Lead and tin melt in the sun"and other words to describe the scene at that time. This seems to indicate that the metal softens and flows at high temperatures, just like we light a candle.
Streets and avenues were turned into ovens, and the ancient capital sighed under the scorching sun. The heat lasted for 12 days, claiming at least 11,400 lives and destroying countless homes. In the face of such natural disasters, one cannot help but ask: what are the consequences and problems caused by these extreme weather conditions? What kind of impact and suffering did these extreme weather bring to the people at that time? How did they struggle to survive the disaster?
Entire industries are dying, and people are suffering from the heat.
During those 12 days of scorching heat, the whole city was in chaos and people were drowsy. Pedestrians walked slowly through the streets, and many fainted on the side of the road before they knew it. Narrow streets and alleys become impassable.
Blacksmith Zhang Lao could no longer work in front of the furnace, and the forge became another smelting furnace. In such weather, the forge does not need fire at all! "He muttered to himself. He said to himself. **Xiao Zhao was sweating profusely, and the hammer in his hand couldn't be beaten, so he could only shake his head helplessly.
Many shops closed early, but pharmacies are one of the few that are still open. A customer named Grandma Li walked into the pharmacy and asked the pharmacist to prescribe her heat stroke medicine as soon as possible. Her elderly father was already seriously ill with a fever. The pharmacist wiped her sweat and gave her a few packets of medicine, but complained that the medicine had been sold out due to the extremely hot business these days.
The fields outside the city were even more deadly silent. Due to the heat and drought, crops have dried up, and farmers can no longer count on a bumper harvest. Uncle Zhang, an old farmer, stood in front of his dry field, complaining desperately to his neighbors that this year's crops were about to be lost. Neighbor Lao Li shook his head vigorously, his face full of sadness.
A few tables of guests gathered in a tea room in the city center, and although there were not many people, it was lively. They huddled in the shop, moss buzzing, but they didn't feel the cold. The shopkeeper was busy serving tea and pouring water for his customers, complaining that it hadn't been so hot in years. """"A regular customer lamented:"This summer is like the summer of a hundred years ago.
The heat made it impossible for people to work, and shops on the streets were closed. People can barely work during the day and have to stay at home to escape the heat. For many, the long 12 days turned into a life-and-death struggle.
The ancient city was helpless in the scorching heat.
During these 12 days of scorching heat, the old town was transformed into a giant oven. At such temperatures, all ferrous structures will soften and deform like toys. Blacksmiths, goldsmiths, and silversmiths can no longer be in their trade. Even the lead toys in schools melted in the sun and lost their shape. During these 12 days, the handicrafts that have been handed down in this ancient city for thousands of years are almost completely gone.
And that's just a fraction of the surface. The most affected by the heat wave are undoubtedly the most vulnerable. In a small, dilapidated stone house at the end of the street, an elderly woman with limited mobility is desperately winding herself. Due to her weak body, she has not been able to walk to the cool places on the street. At this moment, she suddenly lost her strength, her arms weakened, and she fell to the ground. The faint sound of her breathing drowned out the hustle and bustle outside the window, and no one heard her voice in the scorching heat of the city.
Behind the drugstore, where no one cared, tears of anemia flowed down the lively face of the pharmacist's youngest son. He had been ill for three days in this heat wave, and his young body could not withstand such a catastrophe. His parents carried him around the store, their eyes full of despair.
An old man walks a bird on the street and watches his beloved bird die in his arms. The old man stood there for a long time, until someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he took his eyes off the bird's carcass. He wiped tears from his eyes and moved on. He threw down the dust and flew away in the hot wind.
In 1743, there was no electricity and the nights were not cold. There is an urgent need for electricity in the old city.
Relief supplies help the ancient city recover from the disaster.
However, in this darkest hour, the ancient city showed its tenacious vitality and wisdom accumulated over its long history. A natural disaster that seems to bring only death and despair has inspired the coping mechanisms and disaster preparedness reserves that this ancient city has accumulated over thousands of years. It is these reserves that have allowed the city and its inhabitants to survive natural disasters.
At that time, Qing ** showed excellent crisis management skills. Before the heat wave, the food reserves of ** provided the city with valuable reserves. A large amount of grain arrived in the capital through the canal, so a large amount of grain was stored in advance to prepare the people and the city. This proved to be an important lifeline for the city during the deadly famine that followed.
After the high temperatures caused a large number of deaths and food shortages, the imperial court immediately established a mechanism for transporting grain from the surrounding areas to the capital and the disaster areas. Relief food was transported to the capital and the hardest-hit areas by land. Victims were able to pick up food at designated locations, thus reducing the number of deaths.
When he took the grain that helped him, the old farmer bowed three times to the ** who had helped him:"Thank you, Your Majesty and Excellencies, otherwise our whole family would have died. A bag of food is far from enough, but it means hope for him and his family.
The heat wave claimed the lives of 110,000 people and also destroyed the ancient city. But in the darkest of desperate moments, this ancient city with a thousand-year-old civilization has shown enough strength and resilience to save itself. History and collective wisdom are key to the city's recovery and renewed hope.
The 12-day heat wave of 1743 was undoubtedly a major disaster in the history of the ancient city. But in the face of this seemingly helpless disaster, this ancient city has shown tenacious vitality and unity spirit, and at the same time, it has also shown us the brilliance and hope of humanity. When we look back at this catastrophe that occurred nearly 300 years ago, can we find the same lesson from today's frequent natural and man-made disasters?
In our time, how to inherit and inherit the wisdom of this ancient city, so that the cities of our time can work with one heart and one mind and survive tenaciously in disasters one after another? Perhaps the answer can be found in this seemingly distant historical event.