Plagues in History How did two massive plagues destroy two dynasties?
In ancient times, due to the relatively backward level of medical and health care, in the face of the plague, the lack of effective means, relatively backward, coupled with the backwardness of transportation and communication means, it was difficult to quickly organize the rescue labor force when the plague broke out, which is also the reason why the ancient plague often caused a large number of people. There were many plagues in ancient times, especially the plagues in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the last years of the Ming Dynasty, which were undoubtedly the last straw for the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.
The Great Plague of the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty was the last straw that destroyed these two dynasties.
As the saying goes, the Chinese are the most simple, but no matter how they try to survive, not only will they cause civil strife, but in addition to the corruption of the dynasty and the oppression of those in power, the lethality of the plague is also extremely strong, and the large-scale civil strife in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the last years of the Ming Dynasty has had a serious impact on the plague.
1.A plague epidemic in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. In the history of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, especially during the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, from the first year of Jianning (168) to the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the seventh year of Guanghe (184), natural and man-made disasters emerged one after another, and there was hardly an interval of more than ten years between natural disasters. That's right"The great plague will be followed by a great plague"After a succession of natural disasters, there were five plagues during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han alone.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, when natural disasters and plagues were raging. The Yellow Turban Rebellion was finally put down, and from the ninth year of Jian'an (204) to the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), another great plague broke out. Cao Zhi described the tragic situation of the plague as follows in "The Theory of Epidemic Gas":"There are dead bodies in every house, there are mourning voices in every room, the doors are closed, or the people are destroyed. Zhang Zhongjing, a medical saint, said indignantly in "Treatise on Typhoid Fever and Miscellaneous Diseases":'Since the establishment of our more than 200 ethnic groups, less than 10 years, two-thirds of the dead were due to typhoid fever, and 10 out of 70 were due to typhoid fever'。
The plague, which lasted for more than a decade, not only caused a large number of deaths (the population decreased by three-quarters, and the population of the hardest-hit Central Plains region decreased by one-tenth), but also caused the deaths of many important people, such as:"The seventh son of Jian'an"Xu Gan, Chen Lin, Ying Ling, and Liu Zhen, as well as Lü Meng, who attacked Jingzhou.
2.The Great Plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty. In the early years of Jiajing, the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols caused a large number of Han people to be trapped or flee to the grasslands, many grasslands were converted into farmland, and the grassland rodents began to lose their habitat, and the degree of contact between humans and mice increased. In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, frequent droughts deprived rats of food**, and they began to flock to human settlements, eventually leading to a great plague.
In fact, from the beginning of the Wanli period, the Ming Dynasty began to be frequently infected with plagues, and the plague that began to circulate in the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633) was even larger in scale and harm. From the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633) to the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), the plague ravaged Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, and Tianjin, as recorded in Xia Xie's "Ming Tongjian"."The plague of the capital division has countless deaths", "Chongzhen Record" records as"The plague of the capital division has caused many deaths. From one day to tens of thousands"，"The sick person dies like watermelon juice. The death of a pillow, ten rooms and nine emptiness, even the small house, there is no one who is friendly"The tragic situation in the capital is still like this, which can be seen.
According to historical records, according to legend, the plague in Chongzhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty directly led to the loss of nearly 10 million residents in Shaanxi, Jin and Hebei provinces, and no less than 200,000 people died of the plague in the capital alone, so that in the end even the capital could not be found. What's more serious is that this plague directly led to the direct destruction of Datong, Shanxi, Jizhou, Xuanfu and other places on the nine sides of the Ming Dynasty, so that Li Zicheng attacked the capital, and the imperial court could not resist it at all, and even the capital could not gather soldiers to defend the city, so it could only send eunuchs to guard the city wall.
From ancient times to the present day, countless epidemics have been recorded in history, and that is enough.
In addition to the above two aspects and the destructive power of the plague, due to the limited level of individuals, the accounts of the plague in Chinese history are briefly listed below.
1.New Dynasty three years (11),"The epidemic has killed more than half of the dead"("Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Biography of Liu Xuan").
The third year of Tianfeng (16 years),"In the February epidemic, Feng Mao was in Juchang, and six or seven soldiers died of illness"(Book of the Later Han Dynasty - The Biography of Wang Mang).
3.Three years of the New Dynasty (22 years),"The Great Plague, half of the dead"("Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Biography of Liu Ji").
4.In the fourteenth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (38 years)."There will be a great epidemic, and tens of thousands of people will die"("Book of the Later Han Dynasty - The Biography of Zhong Liyi").
5.In the twentieth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (44 years)."Ma Yuan was in Jiaozhi, and more than 40 Wuchen died of miasma"("Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Ma Yuan Biography").
6.The twenty-fifth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (49 years)."The Wuling Wuxi epidemic caused many deaths"("Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Ma Yuan Biography").
7. The fifth year of Yanxi in the Eastern Han Dynasty (162 years)."Huangfu index in Longyou, the plague epidemic in the army, the deceased thirteen or fourteen, the indicator pro in the temple inspection"。(Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Huangfu Gui Biography).
8.In the second year of Jianning of the Eastern Han Dynasty (169),"The great plague caused many deaths"("Preparing for Emergencies - Typhoid Fever").
9. The first year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (196)."Since then, Nanyang's annual illness has begun, and in less than ten years, Zhang Zhongjing's clan has more than 200 people, and even two-thirds of them have died"。(Preface to the book "Treatise on Typhoid Fever").
10, the fourth year of Cao Wei and Huang Chu (223)."In March, the Wanxu epidemic killed 10,000 people"。(Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms - Wei Shu - Wu Xingzhi).
11.In the second year of the reign of the Eastern Wu Dynasty (252)."In the summer and April, the new city was besieged, the epidemic was great, and the soldiers were half dead"("Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Wu Zhi - The Biography of Sun Liang").
12.In the fifth year of Cao Wei Jiaping (253),"In April, the epidemic was in Xincheng, half dead"。(Song Shu - Wu Xingzhi).
13.In the ninth year of the Western Jin Dynasty (273)."In the third year of the Wu epidemic, 100,000 people died in Kyoto"(Song Shu - Wu Xingzhi).
14.In the first year of Xianning in the Western Jin Dynasty (275),"In November, there was a great epidemic in Kyoto, and 100,000 people died"(Book of Song - Five Elements Chronicles).
15.In the first year of Guang Gong of the Western Jin Dynasty (306), Ningzhou"Hunger epidemics have killed hundreds of thousands"("Zizhi Tongjian").
16.During the Yongjia period of the Western Jin Dynasty (307-312)."and plague and hunger. Hunger is very great, there are many corpses in the river, and there are white bones in the fields"("Book of Jin - Food and Goods").
In the first year of Yongchang in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (322),"In November, there was a pandemic, and there were two or three out of ten deaths, and the same was true for the state"(Book of Song - Five Elements Chronicles).
In the first year of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (376),"The winter plague lasted until May of the following year, and many people died"(Book of Song - Five Elements Chronicles).
19.Eastern Jin Dynasty Taiyuan 5th year (380):"In May, from the winter plague to this summer, many families have died"(Book of Song - Five Elements Chronicles).
20. In the first year of Long'an in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (397)."In August, the Great Epidemic of the Northern Wei Dynasty killed 15 or 6 people, horses and cattle"(Northern History-Wei Benji).
21.In the fourth year of Jingxuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (408),"Jingxuan traveled to Huangwu, five hundred miles away from Chengdu, and the epidemic was exhausted"("Southern History-Liu Jing Propaganda").
In the first year of Liu Song Jingping (423),"Wei epidemic, 123 people died"(Northern History-Wei Benji).
23.In the second year of the Emperor's reign of the Northern Wei Dynasty (468),"In October, there was a great epidemic in Yuzhou, and 145,000 people died"(Wei Shu - Ling Zheng Zhi).
24.In the third year of Yongping of the Northern Wei Dynasty (510),"In April, there was a major epidemic in Pyeongchang and Xiangling in Pingyang County, and 2,730 people died"(Book of Wei - Emperor Xuanwu Shizong Ji).
25.In the eighteenth year of Emperor Kaihuang of Sui (598),"In September, the Langya King Han's epidemic, the deceased was ten**"(Book of Sui - Gao Di Ji).
26.In the eighth year of the Great Cause of the Sui Dynasty (612),"The great drought and epidemic caused many deaths, especially in Shandong"("Northern History-Sui Benji").
27.In the first year of Tang Yongchun (682),"Coupled with the disease, from Shaanxi to Luo, there are countless deaths. Dead on the road"("Old Tang Book-Five Elements Chronicles", "Old Tang Book-Gaozong Ji").
28.In the third year of the Tang Middle Palace (687),"A spring in Beijing, a great epidemic in Shandong, and many people died"("Old Tang Dynasty Book - Zhongzong Ji").
29.In the first year of Tang Jinglong (707),"From Beijing to Shandong and Hebei, thousands of people died from the summer plague"("New Tang Dynasty Book - Five Elements Chronicles").
30.The first year of Baoying of the Tang Dynasty (762),"The Jiangdong epidemic, more than half of the dead"("New Tang Dynasty Book - Five Elements Chronicles").
In the first year of Guangde (763),"The Jiangdong epidemic, more than half of the dead"("Old Tang Dynasty Book - Dynasty Zong Ji").
32, the fifth year of Tang Zhenyuan (789)."Huainan, Zhejiang, eastern Fujian, western Fujian and other places are dry in summer, the wells and springs are even drier, the people are thirsty, and many epidemics die"。Ancient books of the Tang Dynasty - Dezong Ji.
In the first year of the Tang Dynasty (806),"The epidemic in eastern Zhejiang, half of the dead"("New Tang Dynasty Book - Five Elements Chronicles").
34, the first year of Guangming in the Tang Dynasty The first year of Guangming (880),""In the late spring, the Shinshu thief epidemic, and many people died. Let the plague go"。(Old Tang Dynasty Book - Xi Zongji).
35, the second year of Tang Dashun (891)."Spring, Huainan hunger, military plague, the dead thirteen or fourteen"("Old Tang Dynasty Book - Zhaozong Ji").
36.The first year of Tianyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1049)."Hebei epidemic, send envoys to send medicine"(History of the Song Dynasty - Renzong Ji).
In the first year of Jianyan of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127),"In March, the Jin people besieged Bianjing, and more than half of the people in the city died from the epidemic"("History of the Song Dynasty - Wu Xingzhi").
The first year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1131),"In June, there was a major epidemic in western Zhejiang, and there were no runners in the north of Pingjiang"(History of the Song Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles).
39. The second year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1132)."In the spring, the epidemic in Fuzhou, thousands of people died, so it was a meeting for dysentery"。("History of the Song Dynasty - Wu Xingzhi"). "Famous doctors continue to be examples of dysentery"）。
40. In the sixth year of Kim Jong-ryong (1161)."The main road is Beijing, where countless epidemics have died, and the world is in chaos"。(Jin Shi - Wanyan Kuang Biography).
41. The second year of Longxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1164)."In the winter of Huaidian, there were two or three hundred thousand displaced people in the south of the Yangtze River to prevent chaos, and the grass houses were all over the valley, and they were frostbitten by Sui, and half of the people died from the epidemic, but the dead were still dead"。It is a year old, and the soldiers in Zhejiang are particularly hungry, and the people are plagued"(History of the Song Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles).
42, the eighth year of Chunxi of the Southern Song Dynasty (1181),"There is an epidemic in the city, and there are many people who have died. Ningguo epidemic, especially the dead"。("History of the Song Dynasty - Wu Xingzhi").
43.In the second year of Shaoxi of the Southern Song Dynasty (1191),"The epidemic in Fuzhou killed thousands of people"。(History of the Song Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles).
44.In the second year of Jiading in the Southern Song Dynasty (1209),"In the summer, the people in the city died of illness, and the Huai people who took refuge in the south of the Yangtze River died of hunger and heat"(History of the Song Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles).
45.In the third year of Jiading in the Southern Song Dynasty (1210),"In April, many people in Beijing died of epidemics"(History of the Song Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles).
46.In the second year of Deyou of the Southern Song Dynasty (1276),"Within months, the plague struck the city, killing countless people"(History of the Song Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles).
47.Yuan to Yuan (1297),"In August, more than 6,500 people died of drought in Zhending, Shunde, and Hejian, and Leshou and Jiaohua in Hejian. In December, there was a hunger epidemic on Baoyang Road, and most of the soldiers died of miasma"。(Yuan History-Chengzong Benji, "New Yuan History-Shi Yao Biography").
In the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (1308), the spring plague in Shaoxing, Qingyuan and Taizhou"More than 26,000 people died"("Yuan Shi - Five Elements Chronicles").
49.In the second year of Yuan Zhizheng (1313),"The Great Epidemic of the Winter Beijing Division"("Yuan Shi - Five Elements Chronicles").
50.In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (1331),"Nineteen people died from the epidemic"("Yuan Shi - Wenzong Benji").
51.In the third year of Yuan Zhishun (1332),"Hunger and plague raged in Yixian"("Yuan Shi - Wenzong Benji").
52.In the first month of the sixth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1408).'In Jianchang and Fuzhou in Jiangxi Province and Jianning and Shaowu in Fujian Province, more than 88,400 people have died from the epidemic since last year to this month'("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
53.In the eighth year of Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1410),"Dengzhou and Linhai Prefectures, from January to June, more than 6,000 people died from the epidemic"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
In the eleventh year of Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1413),"In June, there was a big epidemic in the three districts of Huzhou, a big epidemic in the five districts of Ningbo in July, and a big epidemic in Shaozhou, with 12,000 deaths"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
55.In the ninth year of Ming orthodoxy (1444),"Shaoxing, Ningbo, and Taizhou were plagued by a pandemic, and more than 30,000 people died the following year"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
56.In the seventh year of Jingtai of the Ming Dynasty (1456),"In May, more than 20,000 people died in the Guilin epidemic"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
In the eleventh year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1575),"In August, the epidemic in Fujian affected Jiangxi, and countless people died"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
58.The twenty-first year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1485),"The Xinye plague is raging, and the dead are endless"。Famous doctor case - the plague.
59.In the sixth year of Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty (1493),"The epidemic in Wuzhong, especially in Changshu, caused most people to die at home"("The Complete Works of Tan Sitong of the Du Gong Department").
60.In the first year of Ming Zhengde (1506),"In June, Huguang, Pingxi, Qingliang, Zhenyuan, Biqiao four health epidemics, the death of a large number of people, from July to December, Jingzhou everywhere is epidemic, Jianning, Shaowu since August also epidemic"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Curtains").
In the second year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1523),"In July, there was a great epidemic in Nanjing, and many soldiers and civilians died"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
62.In the fourth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1525),"In September, the Shandong epidemic killed 4,128 people"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Five Elements Chronicles").
In the ninth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1530),"Smallpox was prevalent, and more than half of the people died"。
64.In the thirteenth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1534),"Spring flowers are raging, and nine out of ten are dead"(Compendium of Epidemic Diseases).
65.In the eighth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1580),"The plague raged in Datong, ten rooms and nine empty, the infected died one after another, several families were infected with the plague, and one or two of the ten rooms were closed"(Shanxi Tongzhi).
66.The tenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1582),"In April, there was a major epidemic in Beijing, and Bazhou, Wen'an, Dacheng, and Bao'an suffered from a big head plague and died of pillow books"("History of the Ming Dynasty - Wu Xingzhi", "Shuntianfu Zhi - Xiangyi").
67.In the fourteenth year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1586),"In the Daoguang room, the plague was raging, and even the door was destroyed"("A Hundred Diseases of Spring").
68.In the second year of the Ming Dynasty (1622),"(Plague dysentery) along the door in late summer and early autumn, very sick"("Notes on Early Awakening - Epidemic Dysentery").
In the twentieth year of the reign of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1681),"The Jinning epidemic, there were many deaths of people and animals; Quyang epidemic, Yuyao measles"("Qing History Manuscript - The First Draft of the Academic Discipline-The Preface to the Smallpox Epidemic") (Qing Historical Manuscript - Disaster Chronicles, "The First Draft of the Academic Discipline-Hua Ren Preface").
70.In the forty-second year of the reign of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1703),"spring plague in Qiongzhou and Lingzhou; Jingzhou May epidemic, countless deaths; Qufu epidemic, Dongchang epidemic, Juye June epidemic, Wendeng August epidemic, less than half of the deaths"。(Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference).
The forty-third year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1704),"Chunnan Le epidemic, Hetian epidemic, Lixian epidemic, countless deaths; Heze epidemic in June; Zhangqiu, Dongchang, Qingzhou epidemic, Fushan plague, countless deaths, autumn Changle epidemic; Qiangzhou Ninghai, Wei County epidemic"。
In the first year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1723),"The autumn epidemic in Pingxiang has killed countless people"(Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference).
In the fifth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1727),"Jieyang and Haiyang summer epidemics; Chenghai autumn plague, countless deaths; Hanyang plague, Huanggang plague, Zhongxiang, Yuming winter plague"(Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference).
74.In the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1732),"the Kunshan epidemic, which killed thousands of people; In the summer, the city was also infected"(The Plague).
In the eleventh year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1733),"The Zhenyang epidemic, countless deaths; Kunshan Epidemic; Shanghai and Baoshan epidemics"(Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference).
Fifty-first year of Qianlong (1786),"In spring, Taizhou, Tongzhou, Hefei, Ganyu, Wujin, and Suzhou were plagued; In summer, there was a major epidemic in Rizhao, Fan, Xin, and Ju counties, and countless people died; Changle and Dongguang are also plagued"(Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference).
The first year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1821)."In March, Renqiu plague; In June, Guanxian, Wucheng, Fanxian, Giant Wild Epidemic, Dengzhou Mansion Epidemic, countless deaths; In July, Dongguang, Yuan, Xinle, Tongzhou, and Jinan epidemics, with countless deaths, and epidemics in Dong'e, Wuding, Tengxian, and Jining Prefectures; In August, the Leting epidemic, the Qingxian epidemic, the beginning of August Ping, countless deaths; Qingyuan epidemic, Dingzhou epidemic; Luanzhou epidemic, Yuan, Neiqiu, Tangshan, Lixian, Wangdu epidemic, Linyu epidemic, Nanguan, Quzhou, Wangdu epidemic. (Qing Historical Manuscript - Disaster).
78.In the twelfth year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1832),"In March, Wuchang, Xianning, and Qianjiang were plagued; In April, the Penglai epidemic; In May, Huangpi, Hanyang, Yide, and Shide epidemics, the dead were not counted; Chongyang plague; Jialing plague, pine plague; In August, Yingcheng, Huangmei, and public security epidemics"(Qing Historical Manuscript - Disaster).
79.In the twenty-sixth year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1846),"The summer wind was very strong, the throat was popular, and the dead died one after another"("The Case of the Poor House Doctor").
80.In the fifth year of Qing Xianfeng (1855),"The Clearwater Plague"("Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference") occurred.
81.In the sixth year of Qing Xianfeng (1856),"Xianning epidemic"(Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference).
In the 11th year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1861),"The Great Plague of Champa. In June, there was a major epidemic in Huang County"(Qing History Manuscript - Disaster Difference).
83.In the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1902)."Recently, there has been a great epidemic, and many people have been injured"(Yuan Shikai to Xu Shichang).