Is the northeast plague outbreak really an epidemic controlled by firecrackers in the late Qing Dynasty?

Of course, it is not an epidemic controlled by firecrackers. The reason why firecrackers were set off in the later period of the plague was that the Chinese New Year was coming soon, and that a large number of people died and had to be cremated to take away people's grief with firecrackers.

The control of plague in Northeast China should be attributed to Julien Dewu. It is this man who seems to have saved the Northeast from danger. At the beginning of this epidemic in Northeast China, people did not pay attention to it. As the Spring Festival is approaching and the population density is relatively high, plague spreads rapidly among people. At this time, due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, Russia and Japan almost accepted the northeast of China, and the people in the northeast suffered from the epidemic and were humiliated by foreigners. Finally, the Qing government was fed up. In order to break this situation, Lian Dewu, who came back from Cambridge University, was ordered to take over the plague prevention and control work in Northeast China.

Lian Dewu was highly educated and very sensitive to the occurrence of plague, so he found two autopsies and observed Yersinia pestis under a microscope. Lian Dewu gradually realized the seriousness of the matter. Through his observation, he found that the plague was spread by droplets, so he called on everyone to wear masks. At first, his behavior was not recognized by everyone. Many foreigners tried to resign from his post. However, people who don't wear masks are soon infected. With the severity of the epidemic, the public realized the correctness of wearing masks.

In addition to wearing masks, Lian Dewu also proposed to block the northeast, so that people who enter and leave the northeast need to go through a period of isolation before they can enter and leave. Lian Dewu also found that Yersinia pestis can survive for a long time, so the body must be cremated and not buried. This time, the Qing government immediately ordered all the bodies to be cremated without delay. People watched their loved ones burn to death. In order to comfort everyone, Lian Dewu suggested setting off firecrackers as a souvenir.

Therefore, whenever someone needs to be cremated in the later period of the plague, people set off firecrackers. Although Lian Dewu's control of plague is mainly attributed to controlling the source of infection, cutting off the route of infection and protecting susceptible people, firecrackers contain gunpowder, which can kill bacteria to a certain extent and play a certain role.