Relations Between Huaihe River Floods And The Ecosystem As Well As Social Complication During Ming And Qing Dynasties

During Ming and Qing dynasties, the Huai River floods occurred in high frequency, which took disastrous to life and property of indigene, sluggished the economy's comeback and development. With the variance of the ecosystem and society as a stsrting point, this dissertation devotes to open out the deep-seated reason of the floods in Huai River drainage area, and the huge reaction of flood to local ecosystem and society, represent the interlaced malignant triangle of the floods and ecosystem as well as society, want to put up a integrated reserch system, which can explain the fact of the extended floods and the sustaining exasperate entiroment and society during Ming and Qing dynasties, and can provide comprehensive and external historical use for reference to prevent floods on Huai River drainage area. The present paper divides into six chapters .At first, dissertation describes the ecological enteriment and historical variance, bring on the background of Huai River floods during Ming and Qing dynasties, then, with the time sequence, thesis reviews the situation and influence of floods, and distinguishs the floods' kind, included heavy rain,the rivers and lakes overflowing their banks or because of banks collapsing towards the river,the floods come out of canal and tide disaster. This chapter also enumerates typical example: the flood in the Year of Wan Li 21, Ming dynasty and the flood in the Year of Yong Zheng 8, Qing dynasty. Based on these, this chapter summarize the characteristic of Huai River floods that were long time,high frequency,far-reaching area and several disaster occuring in the same time.Then, the dissertation analysis the ecological reason of Huai River floods during Ming and Qing dynasties. In this period, the Huang River and Huai River flowing together, so the ultimate reason of Huai River's floods is the bedload which foul the riverbed bring on the water flowing slowness in flood season. Accordingly, this chapter emphasize on mouse out the variance of ecological entiroment in the middle reaches of Huang River and the lower reaches of Huai River, from the two aspects: vegetation destroied and the lake die out to analyses the serious result of the variance of ecological entiroment, this chapter also analyses the variance of climate in that period at a certain extent, and with the theorical view to open out the important function of forest and lake in Huai River drainage area. During this period, the variance of ecological entiroment influenced the floods intensively, but on the other hand, the frequent floods also bring very great effect to the entriment, which embodied mostly in the variance of lakes(especially in the apperance of Hongze Lake and the disappearance of Sheyang Lake )and the river change its route, With the desert and salina of local farmland, the cultivation system changed. Because of huge bedload be eroded to the sea by Huai River, the sealine of north Jiangsu province varied intensively, the sealine advanced quickly to the sea, with the bayou extending, the riverway be drew out in disguised form,which caused the water flowing slowly, therefore ,the floods occurred more frequently.Thirdly,with the social visual angle on the cause of Huai River floods during Ming and Qing dynasties. The social factor were also important reasons of Huai River floods occuring frequently in this period. This chapter's research emphasizes on the influence of deforested-land reclamation and inning around the lakes to floods by population pressure; and the factors of accroaching the bottomland by local tyrant,making bold to switch the water gate to harm the neighbor and water transport which made the situation of a disaster complication and badly. Furthermore, the Ming-mausoleum of Ming dynasty,the ethos of adoring the ancients eyelessly in water-controling and warfare all these impact on the Huai River floods, which splicing and reciprocity also resulted in floods occuring frequently. On the one hand, in the substance lay, firstly, the floods often resulted in the loss of local population, showed on two aspects:the one is direct death of floods; the two is losses of indirect loss of murrain and penal servitude and so on caused by floods, the number of population's loss is very huge, shocking by the sight. Second, flood also caused the reduction of the local arable land and terrene deterioration in the domain of agricultral production, which caused the cultivation system changed, from the high yield rice farming to the low yield dry farming of gain one time every year. The frequent floods bursted the waterway, the bedload fouled the riverbed bring on the water carriage traffic fallen which were very prosperous before this period. On the another hand, in the social consciousness, the flood strong impacted on the life style and consuetude of local people,from the live and work in peace and optimistic positive character to passive folkway of conservative and liking to flee from their homeland and pugnacious. With the descending of social carrying capacity,the the situation of floods often be ampliciated and more serious.Chapter four,the thoughts and practice of water-control on Huai River. In Ming and Qing dynasties, the thoughts of water-control on Huai River were very luxuriant as several hundreds flowers blooming. This chapter research emphasizes on the important thoughts and practice of water-control on Huai River, especially analysed the "hoarding huge water to help the Huang River washing out its bedload","harness the river to attack sand with water" detailedly. Based the historical angle of view this chapter also analyses the achiement and losing of the dividing river to control water and "dredged up the old watercourse to congtrol flood " of DingXian,ZhangJian and so on, and researches into the significance of Huai River's water-control nowdays.Chapter five, the dissertation based the social institution' view to devote to the goverment's function of water prevention and control in that time and its demerit. Chapter seven devoted to the flood prevention and almsgiving or relievement after the disaster in the drainage area; Chapter eight emphasizes on management and operation of preventionsystem in and Huai River and its personnel setting, purview, interior relations and operational patterns. Based on these, two chapter also prick the bubble of the social institution, reappear the historical fact of the manage system in that time. This offers some insight into the phenomenon that the floods' reason is not only the visitation of Providence, but also the factors of human.Finally, the part is epilogue: the clairvoyance of Huai River flood and ecosystem as well as social complication. At first ,this chapter summarizes the whole thesis, expatiates the interlaced malignant triangle of the floods and ecosystem as well as society, which interactional each other cause the floods continued to these days. Therefore, this chapter analyses the reason of frequent floods of Huai River, and with the histroical view, bring forward three rationalizational strategy of Huai River controlling, includes strengthen the engineering treatment, structure the harmonious relation between the human and river and put the "lake and river separated"in force, hope to make the past serve the present, to provide reference to the Huai River controlling and its sustainable development.