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Chinese famine of 1906–1907

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Chinese famine of 1906–1907
A beggar on the street in circa 1907.[1]
CountryQing dynasty China
LocationNorthern Anhui and northern Jiangsu
Period1906–1907
Total deaths20 million - 25 million[2]
Theory1906 China floods, poor harvest
ReliefThousands of tons of food donated via private donations[1]
ConsequencesContributed to the causes of the 1911 Revolution[1]

The Chinese famine of 1906–1907 struck the middle and lower course of Huai River in Qing Dynasty from Autumn 1906 to Spring 1907, administratively in northern Anhui and northern Jiangsu provinces.[3] This Chinese famine was directly caused by the 1906 China floods (April–October 1906), which hit the Huai River particularly hard and destroyed both the summer and autumn harvest.[4]

Affected area

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Northern Anhui

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On 21 December 1906, Shen Bao reported 16 counties in northern Anhui to have particular high mortalities.[5] The edict by Emperor Guangxu on 9 February 1907 waived agricultural taxes to 40 counties in northern Anhui.[6] The 40 counties were:[7]

Northern Jiangsu

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On 29 November 1906, Duanfang, the Viceroy of the Two Yangtze Provinces requested Emperor Guangxu to permit Jiangsu to redirect the imperial taxes to disaster relief. He cited 13 counties to be disaster-stricken.[8]

Death toll

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The primary sources only report fatalities in selected villages or counties.[3] On 21 December 1906, Shen Bao, a leading Shanghai newspaper, reported "a precise death toll has become clear recently in 16 respective counties in Anhui" and amounted to 23,300.[5] Another newspaper[which?] reported that victims amounted to 5,000 daily.[2]

Anhui and Jiangsu had a combined population of 42.1 million as of 1911.[9][10] Two commentaries from the 2010s estimate the total famine deaths in the range of 20–25 million, implying that most of the population of northern Anhui and northern Jiangsu population were wiped out, but offering no explanation on how the calculation is made.[1][2] As author Bas Dianda commented:

It is very difficult to distinguish fatalities due to the famine from deaths caused by the violence; however, some estimate placed the excess of lethality of the period at 20–25 million dead [...] Such a figure, though including deaths from starvation as well as repression, are appalling."[2]

Relief work

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It is the first time in Qing dynasty history when the government formally acknowledged and collaborated with private organizations in disaster relief work ("官义合办"), which attracted a lot of academic interest.[11][12] The relief campaign is coordinated by Sheng Xuanhuai and Lü Haihuan, two statesmen of Jiangsu origin. The lack of Anhui elites in Shanghai, however, led to a huge funding disparity to the much more stricken northern Anhui.[3]

Most of the foreign relief fund came from American missionaries. The American Red Cross and the American newspaper Christian Herald furnished over two-thirds of foreign funds sent to China.[13][14] The Central China Famine Relief Fund Committee was established to coordinate foreign efforts.[15]

On 26 June 1907, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the crisis was at an end.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Kte'pi, Bill (2011). Encyclopedia of Disaster Relief. SAGE Publications. pp. 69, 70. ISBN 978-1-4129-7101-0. Also as Kte'pi, Bill (2011). Chinese Famine (1907). doi:10.4135/9781412994064. ISBN 9781412971010. Retrieved 13 December 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e Dianda, Bas (2019). Political Routes to Starvation: Why Does Famine Kill?. Vernon Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-62273-508-2.
  3. ^ a b c Yuan, Fei (2014). "光绪三十二年苏皖水灾中的救济差异及皖北困境" [Favor One More Than Another: Differences in Relief Efforts in Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces’ after the Flood of 1906]. The Qing History Journal (4): 62–63. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  4. ^ Li, Zhuohua [李灼华] (Guangxu 33-2-15 [28 March 1907]). "奏為皖北賑款不敷擬請截留練兵經費賑撫事". In Grand Council Copies of Palace Memorials [军机处录副奏折], First Historical Archives of China #03-5610-006. "入秋水退, 趕種秋禾, 乃中秋前後雨勢傾盆, 不減於夏, 河水復相灌注, 晚稼掃蕩一空, 遍野源嗷, 流亡相屬... 近聞飢民餓斃者，日凡四五十人，有閹家男婦投河自盡者，有轉徙出境沿途倒斃者，道殣相望，慘不忍聞". As cited in 李文海; 林敦奎; 周源; 宫明 (1990). 近代中国灾荒纪年 [Disaster Annals in Modern China]. pp. 724–725.
  5. ^ a b "皖北水災節略". Shen Bao. 21 December 1906. p. 1. 近来死亡人口尤确，计涡阳、蒙城、亳州三处男女死亡四千余口，颍上、阜阳两处死亡三千余口，太和男女死亡六百余口，霍邱较少，凤阳、怀远、凤台三处男女死亡三千余口，灵壁、宿州两处男女死亡七千余口，寿州、定远两处男女死亡二千余口，五河、泗州两处男女死亡三千余口，盱眙男女死亡七百余口 As cited in Yuan, Fei (2014). "光绪三十二年苏皖水灾中的救济差异及皖北困境" [Favor One More Than Another: Differences in Relief Efforts in Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces’ after the Flood of 1906]. The Qing History Journal (4): 62–63. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  6. ^ 李文海; 林敦奎; 周源; 宫明 (1990). 近代中国灾荒纪年 [Disaster Annals in Modern China]. pp. 724–725.
  7. ^ 大清德宗景皇帝实录, 卷五百六十八 [Veritable Records of Guangxu Emperior, Volume 568]. 1921. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-12-25. 蠲缓安徽宿、灵壁、泗、五河、凤阳、临淮、凤台、颍上、当涂、和、建平、无为、怀远、亳、涡阳、全椒、宣城、寿、定远、含山、芜湖、太和、盱眙、怀甯、铜陵、建德、东流、巢、霍邱、蒙城、滁、阜阳、贵池、合肥、潜山、宿松、繁昌、庐江、桐城、来安、四十厅州县。新旧漕粮田赋有差。{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ Duan, Fang [端方] (Guangxu 32-10-14 [29 November 1906]). "奏為江蘇各州縣被災極重賑撫需款截撥新漕等事". In Grand Council Copies of Palace Memorials [军机处录副奏折], First Historical Archives of China #03-5609-059. 徐州所属之宿迁、睢宁、邱州，海州及所属之赣榆、沐阳，淮安所属之安东为最重”， “淮安所属之清河、桃源次之”，“徐州所属之铜山、萧县，淮安所属之山阳、阜宁......又次之” As cited in Yuan, Fei (2014). "光绪三十二年苏皖水灾中的救济差异及皖北困境" [Favor One More Than Another: Differences in Relief Efforts in Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces’ after the Flood of 1906]. The Qing History Journal (4): 62–63. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  9. ^ "一、中华人民共和国成立前的人口调查和普查". 江苏省志·人口志 [Jiangsu provincial gazette: Volume on Population]. 男女合计：25883336[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "第二节 清朝时期". 安徽省志·人口志 [Anhui provincial gazette: Volume on Population]. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. 1911年：口 16229052
  11. ^ 王丽娜 (2008). 光绪朝江皖丙午赈案研究. School of History, Renmin University (PhD thesis).
  12. ^ 樊超杰 (2014). 光绪三十二年苏北水灾赈济研究. 山东师范大学 (Master thesis).
  13. ^ "CHINESE EXHUMING CORPSES FOR FOOD", San Francisco Call, Volume 101, Number 128, 7 April 1907, p.39.
  14. ^ Curti, Merle (1963). American Philanthropy Abroad: A history. p. 216.
  15. ^ Darroch, J (1907). Report of the Central China Famine Relief Fund Committee. Shanghai: North China Daily News and Herald Ltd.
  16. ^ "CHINA'S FAMINE". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 1907-06-26. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
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