Inscriptions Of Merit And Local Society In The Jialu River Basin (1522-1820)

The Jialu River in the Ming and Qing dynasties was located south of the Yellow River,bordered by the Taihang Mountain Range in the north and the Yudong Plain in the south,and joined the Ying River in present-day Zhoukou City,flowing through the administrative districts of present-day Zhengzhou,Kaifeng,and Zhoukou.The inland terrain of the basin is high in the north and low in the south,the upper reaches belong to the hilly mountains of the Songshan remnants,and the middle and lower reaches are the vast Yudong Plain.During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty,the Jialu River was changed to a new life;Before Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty,the Jialu River was like a forest,which was a north-south transportation trunk line;During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty,it was repeatedly jammed.This development process provides us with a unique perspective for understanding the interaction between people,land,people,water and people in the Jialu River Basin.This paper adopts the method of historical document analysis,field investigation and comparative analysis to discuss the time distribution and geographical distribution of inscriptions.First of all,with the historical document method as the main method and field investigation as the supplement,a total of 111 merit inscriptions in the Jialu River Basin in the Ming and Qing dynasties were sorted out,of which 45 were extant and 66 were lost.Secondly,through comparative analysis,it is found that there are many meritorious inscriptions in the Jiajing and Wanli dynasties of the Ming Dynasty,and the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties of the Qing Dynasty.From a geographical point of view,the proportion of inscribed merit monuments in Mixian,Xingyang,Zhengzhou and Fugou is as high as 75.82%.It can be seen that the spatial and temporal distribution of the Jialu River merit inscription is unbalanced.Combined with the content of the inscriptions recorded in the merit inscriptions,it is discussed that the Jialu River Valley formed a multi-faith intersection area dominated by official rituals and followed by folk beliefs during the Ming and Qing dynasties.Based on the natural disaster pattern in the Jialu River Basin,it is found that the relationship between flood and land degradation is reflected in the Zhongmu area.Under the interaction of natural disasters,social problems such as famine,ecological environment deterioration,and population loss have emerged.In the face of natural disasters or social problems,basic public welfare affairs and local government affairs can be carried out,and the rural gentry and ordinary people occupy a major position in public welfare affairs.When the village gentry participated in the management of local government affairs,the squires "mediated" with the government for their own interests and the interests of the people,and achieved certain results.This not only reflects the improvement of people’s awareness of rights in grassroots society,but also reflects the increasingly prominent characteristics of the guidance of the rural gentry.The content of the meritorious inscription in the Jialu River Basin can reflect the beautiful hopes of the people at that time for beautiful mountains and rivers,and the peace of the country and the people,and the article intends to provide useful historical reference for today’s green water and green mountains,environmental protection and social conditions.