The Flood And Drought Disasters And The Social Measures In Shuntian Perfecture In Ming Dynasty

The disaster goes with human development history all the time. A human history is said to be one that going through disturbance of disasters but also struggling with them, and during this process, lots of measures and methods were applied to ease the threat to human lives and destruction of social orders brought by various disasters. In Ming dynasty, after moving the capital, Shuntian Prefecture became national political center and received tributes from all over the country; however, it is a flood and drought prone land and these disasters not only slowed down local population development and reduced local social property but also had a destructive impact on social stability in the region. So, both sincere requests praying to God in heaven from people and a series of substantial measures such as relief, loans and alms from government had become one of important parts of the Shuntian's responsibilities.Starting from flood and drought disasters happened in Shuntian Prefecture official of Ming dynasty, spirit of limitless disasters and material relief, this article is to show truly the function played by belief in a period with special condition and to take on the effect acted by government and civil people in disasters and reliefs in Shuntian Prefecture, of which, government being present and playing a leading role in regional disaster relief are important feature of the Ming Dynasty Shuntian Prefecture.