How much influence did the "Little Ice Age" in Ming Dynasty have at that time?

The outbreak of the Little Ice Age in Ming Dynasty not only brought great disaster to agricultural production, but also triggered the outbreak of war. At that time, the northern region continued to suffer from low temperature, grassland degradation and drought, making it impossible to grow crops.

In this case, the northern minorities have moved south to disturb the border areas. The family members also had doubts about the rule of the Ming Dynasty because of the influence of natural disasters, which was tantamount to adding insult to injury to the society at that time. In a wide range of wars and famines, the regime of the Ming Dynasty gradually collapsed.

In ancient times, the earth was in an ice age for a long time. At that time, many parts of the world were covered with snow and ice. Every ice age will lead to the extinction of a large number of species, and the Little Ice Age is equivalent to a "miniature" ice age, which has a terrible impact on modern society, not to mention the feudal society of the Ming Dynasty.

First, the reasons for the outbreak of the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty Although the Little Ice Age lasted for decades, in fact, on the whole, decades would not have much impact on the entire climate and environment. Therefore, to analyze its origin, we must look at the whole Quaternary Ice Age in which it lived. There are two main theories about its origin, namely astronomy and geophysics.

Astronomy mainly considers the relationship between gravity and radiation between the sun and other galaxies for climate change. The brightness of the sun changes periodically. When the brightness weakens and the radiation decreases, the earth will become cold and even have an ice age climate.

The decrease of solar radiation in summer is the most important factor leading to the ice age. The periodic change of the equatorial angle of the earth leads to the change of temperature, and the change of the earth is influenced by the motion of planets. The temperature difference between winter and summer is large, and the low latitudes of the earth will be in a cold period at this time.

The second theory, geophysics, has many influencing factors. In atmospheric physics, due to the influence of volcanic activity, the atmosphere is rich in volcanic ash, which leads to low atmospheric transparency and reduced solar radiation, resulting in cold spheres.

Geologically speaking, under the influence of plate movement, the land rises and falls and the plates shift, which changes the land and sea distribution and climate circulation in the past and leads to the cooling of the earth. Under the influence of cloud cover, evaporation and snow reflection, the earth's temperature dropped sharply, leading to the arrival of the Ice Age.

Second, the impact of the Little Ice Age of the Ming Dynasty on society (1) According to historical records, there was a widespread phenomenon of heavy snow in southern China at that time:

The snowfall in Fujian and Guangzhou reached a foot high, and the Yangtze River and Qiantang River were frozen for a month. The south is like this, and the north can be imagined. Generally speaking, the influence is mainly divided into two aspects: nature and humanity.

As we all know, the direct impact of cold weather is drought. At that time, the overall temperature dropped and the summer was very dry. According to historical records, there were droughts in Shandong, Henan and Jiangxi at that time, and it didn't rain for more than ten years.

It is easy to cause accidents under extreme drought conditions. A big explosion occurred in the apocalypse of the Ming Dynasty, which directly led to the death of more than 20,000 people at that time.

(2) After the drought, locusts often occur, which makes the food crops that have just been hit hard hit hard again.

In the historical records of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, besides droughts all over the country, locust disasters are more common. Because of the lack of food, many people had to compete with mice for food, so the plague broke out. The plague mainly spread in North China and Shanxi, and even spread to Beijing in the late Ming Dynasty.

(3) In addition, earthquakes occurred frequently during the Little Ice Age. According to records, there were 4 18 recorded earthquakes in the Ming Dynasty.

These are all chain reactions caused by extreme cold, and the impact of these disasters on the society at that time is naturally unpredictable. According to statistics, the population of Han nationality was about 654.38+20 million in the late Ming Dynasty, and only 50 million remained in the early Qing Dynasty.

First of all, from the perspective of human influence, many poor people in the north froze to death because of extreme cold, and the canal could not operate normally and could not escape to the south. According to historical records, during the Shunzhi period. The Wujiang Canal is more than three feet thick, so boats can only be driven by strong men. Every day, the ship can only advance about 3 kilometers.

(4) Affected by the cold and drought, the grain output has plummeted, and the agricultural economy in China is facing an unprecedented test.

Drought prevails in the north, and crops can't be produced. People can only find roots and turf to eat. Compared with the north, the southern region is less affected, but it is also obvious. In the past, Jiangnan citrus was widely planted as a tribute. But because the cold often freezes to death, orange farmers dare not plant oranges any more. In addition to crops, many livestock were frozen to death, so the development of animal husbandry was also hit.

After the plague of locusts, affected by the plague, millions of people died, and even the soldiers guarding the capital were occupied by several people. The soldiers are head down. Where there used to be dozens of people defending, now only one person is guarding it. At that time, the combat effectiveness of the army was also greatly reduced.

Third, the impact of the outbreak of the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty on the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Under the joint action of many disasters, people have doubts about the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Under the influence of theology, in feudal society, if natural disasters occur, people often think it is the ruler's own reason. At this time, the rule of the Ming Dynasty was suspected, and with the influence of the great famine, a peasant uprising broke out in an all-round way.

At that time, Gao Yingxiang established the position of "Breakthrough King" in Shaanxi and led a group of peasant uprisings. At the beginning of the uprising, the regular army of the imperial court was able to suppress these insurgents, but under the action of cold and famine, more and more farmers joined the uprising. So the uprising has never been suppressed.

163 1 year, Li Zicheng also defected to Gao Yingxiang. Because of his outstanding talent, he was quickly appreciated by Gao Yingxiang and became a general in the uprising army. Seven years later, the army led by Li Zicheng was besieged by the imperial court. At that time, only 18 cavalry was left around him, but he managed to break through. The next year, he organized an uprising again, and Brazil was once again surrounded by regular troops in Sichuan.

At that time, Henan was one of the worst-hit areas in China. Before Li Zicheng entered Henan, Henan had just suffered a severe drought, and people were living in dire straits. Li Zicheng helped the hungry people with his plunder and food. Because of this, Li Zicheng has a great influence in Henan, and the slogan of "Welcome the king to leave grain" is also popular for a while.

After that, the peasant uprising army in Li Zicheng expanded rapidly, and those affected areas became his taxi Hyogo, and people joined his team.

At the same time, the disaster also affected the border stability of the Ming Dynasty. The Jurchen nationality, active in the northeast, rose rapidly at this time. 16 15 years, due to the severe cold, the pasture in the minority areas grew slowly, the land desertification was serious, the grassland ecological environment was seriously damaged, and the food crisis seriously threatened the rule of the post-Jin regime. The Jurchen nationality had to grow and develop, and began their own process of moving south to find opportunities for survival.

On his way to the south, Nurhachi also wooed the Mongolian aristocrats who were also affected by the disaster, and also successfully won the support of the Han nationality in Liaodong. He received wide support.

Although Emperor Chongzhen was diligent in politics at this time, he was unwilling to give up his own interests. On the political balance, his suspicion gradually increased, and the star of the empire was abandoned by him.

Coupled with the impact of the disaster, he is unpopular. When Li Zicheng's army reached the gates of Beijing, the guards were unwilling to resist because there was no money or food support.

Summary: The influence of the Little Ice Age in Ming Dynasty was undoubtedly fatal to the whole society. Although natural disasters are inevitable, human resources can affect the final result. Later, Jin sought rebirth in the disaster to solve the famine.

However, the nobles of the Ming government could not unite, which eventually led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty. This disaster also tells us that no matter how the times develop, we should keep awe of nature.