The Nature of Disaster in China: The 1931 Yangzi River FloodIn 1931, China suffered a catastrophic flood that claimed millions of lives. This was neither a natural nor human-made disaster. Rather, it was created by an interaction between the environment and society. Regular inundation had long been an integral feature of the ecology and culture of the middle Yangzi, yet by the modern era floods had become humanitarian catastrophes. Courtney describes how the ecological and economic effects of the 1931 flood pulse caused widespread famine and epidemics. He takes readers into the inundated streets of Wuhan, describing the terrifying and disorientating sensory environment. He explains why locals believed that an angry Dragon King was causing the flood, and explores how Japanese invasion and war with the Communists inhibited both official relief efforts and refugee coping strategies. This innovative study offers the first in-depth analysis of the 1931 flood, and charts the evolution of one of China's most persistent environmental problems. |
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The Nature of Disaster in China: The 1931 Yangzi River Flood Chris Courtney No preview available - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
agricultural areas August became boats Buck camps catastrophes caused Chen Chinese cholera CIFRC Communists culture described disaster regime disease Dragon King Dragon King Temple droughts dykes earth ecological economic El Niño environment environmental farmers fish flood pulse Flood Relief Commission floodwater foreign Gráda Hankou Hankow Herald hazards helped historians HSSDX Hubei human hydraulic Ibid inundation JHS 6i Jiangsu John Hope Simpson labour relief living middle Yangzi missionary Missouri History Museum modern Nanjing National Flood Relief Nationalist natural NFRC North China Famine North China Herald official organisations Owen Chapman political population Qing Qing dynasty refugees relief effort religion religious Reproduced courtesy rice rituals rivers RNFRC role rural Sampans san yi nian September 1931 Shanghai shuizai SOAS Archives social survive Three Gorges Dam tion twentieth century urban wetlands wheat workers Wuchang Wuhan Wuhan Ribao Yangtze Yangzi Yijiu san yi Yijiu sanyinian Zhang Zhongguo