What happened to the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty?

The Little Ice Age of the Ming Dynasty refers to a period of several decades in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties when the entire winter in China was extremely cold. The annual average temperature during this period is relatively low. The main reason is that severe droughts and floods occur one after another in the summer, so the winter is extremely cold, and even Guangdong and other places are experiencing heavy snowfall.

Generally speaking, the Little Ice Age generally refers to a period of low temperatures from the 15th century to the middle of the 19th century. From about the 16th century to the 19th century, some cold climates also appeared in vast areas of the earth at the same time, so people called it the Little Ice Age.

The year Chongzhen ascended the throne in 1628 happened to be in the middle of the coldest period, because the entire temperature began to warm up around 1650 after the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

Extended information

Historical impact

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The arrival of the Little Ice Age in the Ming and Qing Dynasties not only brought disaster to agricultural society, but also became the trigger for the outbreak of war. For example, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, affected by the Little Ice Age, low temperatures, drought, and pasture degradation continued in the north. In order to improve their situation, northern ethnic minorities frequently moved southward. Widespread wars and famines destroyed the Ming Dynasty regime.

Causes of extinction

The Little Ice Age did have an impact on agricultural socio-economics, and had a greater impact on nomadic life. But it would be too arbitrary to judge that a large empire with a population of 100 million people will be destroyed because of this. The Ming Dynasty fell due to its serious internal crisis. Sun Chuanting summed it up particularly well: "The powerful people are strong and powerful, and the government officials are poor in learning... This makes the country weak. They are as poisonous as thieves, and even more treacherous than thieves." Work carefully." This was the fundamental reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

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