How cold was the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty?

How cold was the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty? The demise of the Ming Dynasty had a certain relationship with natural disasters

How cold was the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty?

The demise of the Ming Dynasty has a certain relationship with natural disasters. There has always been a question that makes people very confused. Who should bear the blame for the demise of the Ming Dynasty? Should Emperor Chongzhen be blamed? As the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he seemed to bear the greatest responsibility. But if we take a closer look at the situation at Qingming Houpeng, it seems that it would be unfair to let Chongzhi take the blame alone.

In the final analysis: the demise of the Ming Dynasty still cannot be escaped from four words, that is, "natural disasters and man-made disasters." The seeds of the man-made disaster were planted long before the case family succeeded to the throne, and Chongzhen could only bear secondary responsibility at best. Chonghang was very similar to Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty. They both had the ambition to revitalize the country, but lacked the corresponding capabilities. To put it bluntly, the Su clan is actually lacking in ability. He bears some responsibility for the demise of the Ming Dynasty, but the entire responsibility should not be placed on him. If you calculate carefully, natural disasters accounted for a large part of the reason for the demise of Minghu. Who allowed the Ming Dynasty to catch up with the extreme weather.

Many people may know that China at the end of the Ming Dynasty was in the rare "Little Ice Age". But if I ask you, how cold was China 300 years ago? I'm afraid many people can't explain why. Literati in the Ming Dynasty were sometimes exaggerated. For example, Xu Guangqi described the styles of red-type paintings.

Even with today's technology, except for nuclear weapons, conventional weapons may not be able to reach this level. However, when it comes to the records of climate conditions in the late Ming Dynasty, the records of literati in the late Ming Dynasty are surprisingly consistent, and that is the word "cold"! Generally speaking, it rarely snows in Guangdong under normal circumstances. Many people living in Guangdong have never seen a few snows in their lives. However, according to Guo Zhuang's records in Guangdong General Chronicles, heavy snow often fell in Guangdong in the late Ming Dynasty. For example, during the Zhengde period, there was a heavy snowfall that lasted for several days and nights and was several feet thick.

For people living in the South, this heavy snow is simply a huge disaster. Due to the humid climate in the south, people living in the ministry do not prepare extra winter coats in winter. Many people froze to death under the intrusion of the inevitable cold at home for many seasons. In fact, strictly speaking, China was in the "Little Ice Age" from the Yuan Dynasty to the early Kangzhou period of the Qing Dynasty.

It’s just that the climate conditions in the late Ming Dynasty were even more severe. In the decades of the late Ming Dynasty, the climate was extremely cold. Not only did heavy snow fall in the winter in the south, but also in the summer, there was a rare occurrence of alternating heavy rain in the morning and heavy rain in the summer.

Especially in the last few decades after the demise of the Ming Dynasty, the climate became extremely cold. The winter in the north was really freezing for thousands of miles. The severe climate led to the occurrence of famine, and it was absolutely impossible to stop the cold. , according to records in the "History of the Ming Dynasty", during the Jingtai period, there was a heavy snowstorm in the East and North China plains. The snow was as deep as a foot, and countless people and animals were frozen. Such cold weather is enough to cause disaster even in modern society. For the ancient people who lived for hundreds of years, they lacked measures to keep warm and lacked food. If they wanted to survive such a cold winter, they could only rely on luck.

The demise of the Ming Dynasty can only be said to be the result of natural disasters and human temples coming one after another. It cannot be said to be the result of the worship of one person. Moreover, before the Ming Dynasty, ancient Chinese history also experienced several "Little Ice Ages", each of which resulted in a significant reduction in population. The first "Little Ice River" period was formed around the end of the Shang Dynasty, the second "Little Ice River" period was formed around the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the third "Little Ice River" period was formed at the end of the Tang Dynasty.

Pengfa who is familiar with history may find that these "Little Ice Ages" were accompanied by violent social upheavals, each causing a massive loss of population. Of course, the weather was not entirely to blame for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. The corruption of Gengzhi and the decay of Chao Gang were also the main reasons for the decline of the Yin Dynasty.