Ice and Snow Disasters in Southern China in the Past 300 Years and Their Effects

　　Most of Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, southern Anhui, southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi in southern China are mainly subtropical monsoon climate zones, with relatively warm winters, but there have been extremely cold periods in history and even suffered from heavy snow and freezing disasters. The Ming and Qing Dynasties were a cold period in the history of China, and the disaster of heavy snow and freezing in the southern region was very serious.

　　First, since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, heavy snow and freezing disasters in South China

　　The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau was very cold from the middle of the seventeenth century to the beginning of the eighteenth century. In the ninth year of Shunzhi, the heavy snow in Guizhou lasted for 40 days. In the fifty-first year of Kangxi, Luoping County was frozen with the moon as big as a column. The cold period from the middle of 18th century to the end of 19th century in Sichuan and Chongqing was not only cold, but also lasted for a long time. During the Ganjia period, there was often heavy snow in Sichuan basin in winter, and the phenomenon of excess snow was very common. For example, in the forty-eight years of Qianlong, heavy snow fell in Sichuan Province, with a thickness of two feet in many places. In the fourteenth year of Jiaqing, there were three heavy snows, the temperature was low, the indoor cups and plates were often frozen, and the ice in the water bowl was three inches thick. The low temperature disaster during Guangxu period was even more obvious. For example, in the seventeenth year of Guangxu, the heavy snow in Shifang County condensed into ice strips and ice cubes, which were extremely hard. The oil tanks and vegetables in the house were as cold as glue paint seals, and they could only be opened when they were used by fire. In the winter of the eighteenth year of Guangxu, there was a severe cold in Shuangliu County, and the ice was more than a foot thick. It snowed heavily for several days in Nanchuan county, followed by freezing for more than ten days. In the winter of the 19th year of Guangxu, the river in Wanyuan County was frozen, making it possible to walk on it. According to relevant historical records, such as "the ice is more than a foot thick", "the ice is hard for several days", "the river ice can cross" and "the ice is several feet thick", it can be seen that the climate in Sichuan Basin and surrounding mountainous areas was obviously colder than now.

　　Hubei area is more obviously affected by the cold air in the north due to location factors, and it is prone to freezing disasters. For example, in the ten years of Shunzhi, Hanyang County suffered from severe cold, and the lakes were frozen and could walk. Twenty-nine years of Kangxi, bamboo? The snow in the county is five or six feet deep, and the river is frozen into a beam. In the winter of the 30th year of Kangxi, it was very cold in Fangxian County, the river froze, and many people and animals froze to death. In the winter of Daoguang twenty-one years, the snow in Xianning County was several feet flat and the ice was as hard as stone. In the winter of the eleventh year of Xianfeng, the snow in Daye County was five feet deep, and the lake ice was thick enough for people to pass. The snow in Pu Yin County is five or six feet deep, and lakes and rivers are all frozen. The snow in Xianning County is four or five feet deep, and many pedestrians are frozen to death. In the first month of the fourth year of Tongzhi, there was heavy snow in Yunyang and the Hanshui River froze. In the winter of Guangxu three years, Xiangyang River was frozen, and ice was everywhere. The river ice in Yicheng county is several inches thick, and the ferryman walks on the ice. In thirteen years, the snow accumulated six feet deep, and the Fuhe River Ivylinna Lee was several feet deep, so vessels of all sizes could not travel, and there was an endless stream of horses and chariots on the river.

　　There were mainly two cold periods in the Qing Dynasty in Hunan, the first was from the early Qing Dynasty to the end of Kangxi, and the second was from Jiaqing to Guangxu. For example, in the ninth year of Kangxi, there was heavy snow in Youxian County, and the river was frozen, so people could cross it. There are several feet of snow in winter in Ningxiang county, and the river can cross. It snows heavily in winter in Xiangxiang County, and the river is frozen and frozen. The snow in Hengshan county is several feet deep, and the river is frozen, which is more than feet thick. It snowed heavily for 60 days in Leiyang county, and everyone on the river crossed the ice. In the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi, the snow accumulated in Yuezhou Prefecture for more than ten days, and the lake was frozen, so people could walk across the river. Hengyang county ice, more than 40 days. The heavy snow in Chenzhou, with several feet of ice thickness, was released in February of the following year. In the fifty-second year of Kangxi, there was a big ice and a frozen river in Changsha County. It is feasible to freeze the rivers in Shanhua County. After twenty-five years of Qianlong, the pond was frozen. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng, the snow in Pingjiang was three feet deep, and the river was frozen to cross. In the first year of Tongzhi, the snow in Wugang was more than two feet deep and the ice was three inches thick. The pond was feasible, and it was difficult to understand for more than ten days. In the twenty-second year of Daoguang, there was heavy snow in Shaoyang, and the ground accumulated two or three feet. The ice was firm and feasible. In Guangxu three years, Leiyang was frozen for more than half a month, and pedestrians suffered.

　　There were also two particularly cold periods in Jiangxi in the Qing Dynasty. The first period was the Kanggan period, and the second period was the late years of Xianfeng and the early years of Tongzhi. For example, in the ninth year of Kangxi, there were dozens of days of heavy snow in Hukou County, and Meijiazhou in Pengli Lake was frozen and could pass people; It is snowing heavily in Xingzi County, and the river is frozen. The heavy snow in Linchuan county has accumulated for more than forty days, and the river ice can be crossed. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng, Wuning County was snowed for three days, with a depth of five or six feet, and it began to disappear at the end of the month. The rivers and wine jars were all frozen, and the water tanks were broken, so that residents had no water to draw, and they lived by melting snow for water. De ‘an County has been snowing for several days, and the Wushimen River is frozen very thick, so it can drive. It is snowing heavily in Poyang County, and the river is frozen, which is several feet strong and can be driven. The snow in Wannian County is four or five feet deep. Anyone with water in the appliance is known as water crack, and the ice in the pond is full of feet, which is feasible. In the first year of Tongzhi, the hard ice in Jinxian County was six or seven inches thick, and the Yangtze River could pass through chariots and horses, that is, the turbulence was frozen. In Anyi County, the snow fell in the first month of spring, and the rivers closed, pedestrians and camphor trees withered. The first month of yugan county is freezing, and the river ice is thick enough to cross the chariots and horses. The river in Anren County is full of ice, and people go up from the ice. It will be fine for ten days. It snowed heavily in the first month of spring in Wanzai County, dripping into ice.

　　Jiangsu and Anhui provinces are roughly divided into three cold periods, namely, the period of ShunKang Yong Gan, the early years of Tongzhi in the last years of Xianfeng and the middle period of Guangxu. For example, in the tenth year of Shunzhi, Tongcheng was snowed for more than ten days, and the trees were frozen, and the moon was puzzled. When it was snowing heavily, the ice was several feet thick, and the eaves hung on the ground, and many trees froze to death. In the winter of the eleventh year of Shunzhi, the ice of Dongtai River was more than feet thick, and people walked on the ice. Wujiang is cold in winter, and the ice in Taihu Lake is two feet thick. Songjiang prefecture, Lingdian frozen for several days, walking on the ice. In the ninth year of Kangxi, there was heavy snow in Wangjiang. The city was several feet deep, and the frozen ice in lakes and marshes was about six feet. The Huaihe River froze in Xuyi, and the horses and chariots traveled on the ice, and the solution began in February of the following year. In the winter of the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi, Shucheng and Wuwei were extremely cold, and the river ice was several feet. Wuxian county is cold and snowy, and the river is frozen and cut off. In the twenty-third year of Qianlong, Taihu Lake froze for more than a month. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng, there was heavy snow in winter, and the ice was thick enough to pass people. The snow in Guichi is seven or eight feet deep, and the river turns into ice. There is heavy snow in Wuxian county, and the flat land is four or five feet. The ice in Taihu Lake is half a month. In the eighteenth year of Guangxu, Wusongjiang, Qingpu County, was frozen for ten days. The river port in Jiading County is frozen and pedestrians can walk on the river. In the 19th year of Guangxu, there was heavy snow in Wuxian, and Taihu Lake was frozen to a thickness of feet. Although Lux vertebral chisel could not sail.

　　During this period, the climate in Zhejiang was also very cold, especially in the early Qing Dynasty and the late Qing Dynasty. For example, in the eleventh year of Shunzhi, Cixi County was cold in winter, and the river was icy, and the boat could not pass through the moon. In the fourth year of Kangxi, the winter in Huzhou was very cold, and the ice in Taihu Lake was blocked. In the twenty-second year of Kangxi, Taihu Lake in Huzhou was frozen for more than a month, and people could walk on ice. In the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi, it was snowed in Anxian County, and the river was frozen and the boat was blocked for decades. In the twenty-seventh year of Qianlong, the winter in Jiashan County was very cold, which was unprecedented in more than sixty years. After 60 years of Qianlong, the snow in Wucheng County was ten feet deep, Taihu Lake was frozen, and people walked on the ice until the Lantern Festival the following year. In the winter of the seventeenth year of Guangxu, there was a great cold in Changhua County, and the river was ice-accumulated, which was several feet strong and could be used for walking. The snow in Taiping county is more than feet deep, coughing and spitting into ice, and the river is frozen and can’t sail. The snow in Haining is extremely cold, the river ice can be worn, and those who can’t get through the boat are tired. In the eighteenth year of Guangxu, all the rivers in Yuyao, Zhejiang were frozen. Heavy snow in Taiping County, coughing into ice, frozen rivers, unable to sail.

　　Studies have shown that Guangdong and Guangxi were equally cold in the Qing Dynasty, with the first low temperature period from the seventh year of Shunzhi to the eleventh year of Qianlong (1650-1750) and the second low temperature period from the ninth year of Daoguang to the second year of Xuantong (1830-1910), with the peaks of the two low temperature periods in the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi and the eighteenth year of Guangxu. For example, in the eighteenth year of Guangxu, the snow in Luchuan, Guangxi was two feet thick, the snow in Qinzhou was like cotton, the snow in Tai Po, Guangdong was three or four inches thick, and the waterfall in the mountain stream was frozen.

　　Since the beginning of the first half of the 20th century, the climate in southern China has become warmer, which is reflected in the relative warmth in the first 50 years. From the 1940s and 1950s, there was a brief cold period, which reached its peak in 1955. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there was an extreme low temperature of about minus 14 degrees Celsius, and both Dongting Lake and Hanshui River were frozen, while Taihu Lake was partially frozen, and the absolute lowest temperature below zero was also recorded in Guangdong and Guangxi.

　　Generally speaking, the winter low temperature disaster in southern China is very serious in the past 300 years. During the cold period, not only the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River generally have a long period of heavy snow, but also the land is seriously frozen, and most rivers and lakes are frozen. Many rivers and lakes have ice thickness that can pass pedestrians and cars. Not only do people cough and spit into ice in the wild, but also water bowls and wine jars at home freeze, some of which are as thick as three inches. This low temperature freezing situation is unprecedented in the past 100 years. The degree of low-temperature freezing disaster in Sichuan and Chongqing in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River is relatively weak, but some rivers in the northern part of the basin also appear freezing phenomenon, and Mianyang even turns boiling water into ice in an instant, which is more serious than this year’s low-temperature freezing disaster. In the high-altitude Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau area, sometimes it snows for as long as 40 days, and the bowl in Kunming freezes, and the degree of low temperature is also higher than that in modern times.

　　According to the 500-year temperature fluctuation map south of Huaihe River in Qinling Mountains of China, there are four cold periods from the mid-15th century to the 1970s, the mid-17th century, the mid-18th century and the late 19th century, and the cold period generally fluctuates between 100 and 150 years. In the past 300 years, 50 or 60 years in the early Qing Dynasty and 50 years in the late Qing Dynasty were the coldest periods. The extreme peak years of the former period were in the ninth year of Kangxi (in 1670, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Lingnan) and in the 29th year of Kangxi (in 1690, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Lingnan), while the peak years of the latter period were in the 17th to 19th years of Guangxu (in 1891-1893, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Lingnan). At the same time, there are relatively extreme low temperature periods of about 50 years in this hundred-year cycle, such as the 26th year of Qianlong (in 1761, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River), 14th year of Jiaqing (in 1809, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River), 11th year of Xianfeng and 1st year of Tongzhi (in 1861 and 1862, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River) and 1955 (in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Lingnan). Generally speaking, the low temperature degree of the heavy snow and freezing disaster in China this year is not as severe as the two heavy snow and freezing disasters in Kangxi and Guangxu years, nor as severe as the low temperature degree in 1955, but the scope of the disaster is rare. As far as the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Lingnan areas are concerned, it is at least a once-in-50-year heavy snow and freezing disaster, and it can be described as a once-in-a-century winter low temperature and freezing disaster for the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

　　Second, the impact of heavy snow and freezing disasters

　　Due to different social and economic backgrounds, the impact of low temperature and freezing disasters in different periods is also very different.

　　(1) In the traditional era, the socio-economic operation of urban and rural areas was mainly maintained by natural renewable fuels. In the Qing Dynasty, most urban and rural areas in southern China mainly relied on nearby biofuel firewood for heating and lighting, and transportation and communication were also mainly transmitted by people. The natural attributes of life and production were obvious, so the impact of low temperature disasters on the basic survival and production of urban and rural areas was limited. From the traditional era, the low-temperature freezing disaster in the south usually causes "people and animals freeze to death", "fish and turtles freeze to death", "fruit trees wither", "trees are completely broken", "houses are crushed" and "boats are blocked", etc., but it is not easy to make urban and rural areas completely paralyzed. Modern industrial civilization is based on non-renewable and non-biological fuels, and this foundation is often realized by great transportation and transshipment; At the same time, modern fuel-powered transportation has higher requirements for roads, while people and information flow more frequently in modern society, and basic survival has higher requirements for transportation and fuel power. Therefore, once the traffic is blocked, the fuel can’t be transported through the big traffic, and the power is interrupted, the modern industrial civilized society will be completely paralyzed, and the disaster caused to the society will be more obvious.

　　(2) In the Qing Dynasty, the population density in southern China was not as high as that in modern times, and the intensity and scope of economic development were not as good as now, so the impact of low temperature and extreme climate on production and life was objectively limited. Especially in many areas of southern China in the Qing Dynasty, the scale of agricultural production in winter was very limited, and many lands were left fallow. However, with the economic development in southern China, the scale and scope of industrial economy have been greatly expanded, the urban population has soared, modern industrial civilization has been further deepened, and the multi-cropping system of field crops has been popularized, especially the development of a large number of greenhouse planting industries. The impact of low-temperature freezing disasters on urban and rural production and life is much more obvious than that of the Qing Dynasty.

　　Of course, we should also see that in the face of low-temperature and freezing disasters in ancient times, although the scale and degree of the disaster may be small objectively, it is precisely because of the constraints of transportation and communication that people often can’t know the situation in the disaster area in time and can’t carry out disaster relief and mitigation in time, so it often has a great impact on people’s livelihood.

　　It should be pointed out that the modern industrial economy in the south of China has only a history of more than one hundred years, but it only took shape in the last fifty years. In history, this large-scale extremely cold and frozen climate in the south is often a time scale period of one hundred to fifty years, so strictly speaking, the modern industrial civilization in the south of China has not experienced the test of this extremely low temperature and freezing disaster. Therefore, we not only lack the psychological and countermeasure preparation for this emergency, but also lack the construction requirements for preventing this kind of low-temperature freezing disaster, such as building roofs, power transmission, highway and railway transportation, which do not have the technical requirements for preventing extreme low-temperature freezing under high humidity. Therefore, it is necessary for us to strengthen the research on the prevention of extreme freezing weather in winter and establish corresponding preventive countermeasures in the urban and rural construction and social development in southern China. (Author: Institute of Historical Geography, Southwest University)

Editor: Li Erqing