Study On Zuo Zongtang’s Famine-relief Practices

Zuo Zongtang（1812-1885） was an important governor-general during thereigns of Tongzhi and Guangxu, he was also a key person of Xiang army. When hewas an adviser in Hunan and Hubei, he helped the provincial governors in relievingand rebuilding the disaster-stricken areas, and studied the practical measures infamine-relief. Then Zuo Zongtang was able to perform the duties of famine-reliefand reconstruction after numerous wars as a governor-general in provinces of Fujian,Zhejiang, Shanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang. In the coastal regions of Fujian and Zhejiang,he instituted the following famine-relief practices: refugee settlement, abated taxburden, and reconstructed the sea wall. In Shanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang provinces,his achievements included: the promotion of agriculture and silkworm-raising,afforestation, refugee settlement, reconstruction of irrigation system andencouragement of tea plantation and pasturage.Comparing Zuo Zongtang’s famine-relief practices in both the coastal areas andinland areas, some of them were put into practice only along the coastal areas, forinstance: the reconstruction of the sea wall and abated tax burden; while others wereonly in the inland areas, such as: afforestation, prohibition of poppy plantation, andthe promotion of pasturage; some of them were put into practice in both inland areasand the coastal areas. However, they demonstrated significant differences in actualcontent, we can detect that those measures possessed characteristics that fit into localcircumstance. Those measures conducted by Zuo Zongtang reinstated cropproduction and rescued refugees effectively after wars, and it still is a positivereference for nowadays.