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|local-date = {{Start date|df=yes|1556|1|23}} in [[Julian calendar]]<ref name="Int">International Association of Engineering Geology International Congress. Proceedings. [1990] (1990). {{ISBN|90-6191-664-X}}.{{author?|date= September 2018}}{{title?|date= September 2018}}{{page needed|date= September 2018}} {{verify source|date=September 2018}}</ref><br/>{{Start date|df=yes|1556|2|2}} in [[Gregorian calendar]]<br/>The 12th day of the 12th month of the 34th year of the ''Jiajing'' era in [[Chinese calendar]]
|local-time = Early morning
|magnitude = 87.00–7.5 {{mM|w|link=y}},<ref name="Feng20" /> 8.0 {{m|w}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Du|Li|Wang|Ma|2017|p=84}}.</ref>
|depth = Unknown
|location = {{coord|34|30|01|N|109|18|00|E|display=inline,title}}
|affected = [[Ming dynasty]]
|intensity = {{MMI|XI}}
|casualties = *100,000+ (direct deaths) ~730,000 (indirect deaths)<ref name="1998 law"/><ref name="2008 Gao"/><ref name="2008 Q&A"/><ref name="2005 Xie"/>
}}
[[File:Ordos Block.png|thumb|Map of the Weihe–[[Shanxi Rift System]] along the southern and eastern margin of the [[Ordos Block]]]]
The '''1556 Shaanxi earthquake''' ([[Chinese postal romanization|Postal romanization]]: ''Shensi''), known in Chinese colloquially by its [[Chinese era name|regnal year]] as the '''Jiajing Great Earthquake''' "{{lang|zh|嘉靖大地震}}" (''[[Jiajing Emperor|Jiājìng]] Dàdìzhèn'') or officially by its [[epicenter]] as the '''Hua County Earthquake''' "{{lang|zh|华县地震}}" (''[[Hua County, Shaanxi|Huàxiàn]] Dìzhèn''), occurred in the early morning of 23 January 1556 in [[Huaxian, Shaanxi]] during the [[Ming dynasty]].
 
Most of the residents there lived in [[yaodong]]s—artificial caves in [[loess plateau|loess]] cliffs—which collapsed and buried alive those sleeping inside. Modern estimates put the direct deaths from the earthquake at over 100,000, while over 700,000 [[Migration in China|migrated]] away or died from [[Famines in China|famine]] and plagues, which summed up to a total loss of 830,000 people in Imperial records.<ref name="1998 law">{{cite book| editor-last=邬福肇|editor-last2=曹康泰|editor-last3=陈章立|title=中华人民共和国防震减灾法释义|publisher=法律出版社|date=1998|quote=１５５６年我国陕西的华县8级大地震，共死亡约83万人，但实际上其中70多万人死于其后的瘟疫和饥荒。|chapter=第三章 地震灾害预防|chapter-url=http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2170/200011/2be159a6f944411bab7d9d5448d90dc3.shtml|access-date=4 August 2023|archive-date=4 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804065612/http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2170/200011/2be159a6f944411bab7d9d5448d90dc3.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="2008 Gao">{{cite journal|url=https://coaa.istic.ac.cn/openJournal/periodicalArticle/0120100337970296|title=大地震后传染病的防疫要点|last1=高东旗|last2=王常有|last3=杜玉萍|last4=王晓燕|journal=华北国防医药|date=2008|issue=3|quote=1556年陕西发生大地震，当时死亡10万人，而第2年发生大瘟疫，却死亡70多万人 [100,000 died in 1556, while a plague struck the subsequent year and led to a further death of 700,000-odd.]}}</ref><ref name="2008 Q&A">{{cite book|title=地震知识百问百答|date= 2008|editor=[[China Earthquake Administration]]|publisher=地震出版社|url=https://www.cea.gov.cn/manage/html/8a8587881632fa5c0116674a018300cf/_content/08_05/30/1212139484781.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509075627/https://www.cea.gov.cn/manage/html/8a8587881632fa5c0116674a018300cf/_content/08_05/30/1212139484781.html|archivedate=2009-05-09|quote=实则直接死于地震的只有十数万人，其余70余万人均死于瘟疫和饥荒 [Actually, direct deaths from earthquake amount to 100,000-odd, the remaining 700,000-odd died from plagues and famine]}}</ref><ref name="2005 Xie">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=0_2bizzqvFEC&pg=PA162 颤抖的地球—地震科学] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113222624/https://books.google.com/books?id=0_2bizzqvFEC&pg=PA162#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=13 November 2023 }}'' (2005). Researched by [[China Earthquake Administration]] seismologists 冯万鹏,薑文亮,龚丽霞,公茂盛,胡进军; Revised by CEA seismologists 王文清,续春荣,张宝红; Edited by CEA chiefs 谢礼立,张景发. Tsinghua University Press. Pages XIII, 162. "1556年陕西华县8级大地震，死亡的83万人中, 据估计死于瘟疫者不下七八成" [Among the 830,000 died, it is estimated that no less than 70% or 80% died from plagues]</ref> It was the [[List of earthquakes#deadliest earthquakes|deadliest recorded earthquake in history]], and in turn one of the [[List of disasters in China by death toll|deadliest natural disasters in Chinese history]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infoplease.com/geography/earthquakes/deadliest-earthquakes-record|title=Deadliest Earthquakes on Record|website=www.infoplease.com|accessdate=8 April 2023|archive-date=28 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328111609/https://www.infoplease.com/geography/earthquakes/deadliest-earthquakes-record|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==Tectonic setting==
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|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181009053103/http://www.geojournals.cn/dzxbcn/ch/reader/download_pdf.aspx?file_no=201701008&year_id=2017&quarter_id=1&flag=1
|url-status= dead
}}</ref> The Weihe Basin has an overall [[half-graben]] geometry, with the main controlling faults, such as the Huashan Fault and North Qinling Fault, forming the southern boundary.<ref name="Shi_etal_2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Shi |first1=W. |last2=Dong |first2=S. |last3=Hu |first3=J. |date=2019 |title=Neotectonics around the Ordos Block, North China: A review and new insights |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=200 |page=102969 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102969|s2cid=210616833 }}</ref><ref name="Feng_etal_2020Feng20">{{Cite journal |last1=Feng |first1=X. |last2=Ma |first2=J. |last3=Zhou |first3=Y. |last4=England |first4=P. |last5=Parsons |first5=B. |last6=Rizza |first6=M.A. |last7=Walker |first7=R.T. |date=2020 |title=Geomorphology and Paleoseismology of the Weinan Fault, Shaanxi, Central China, and the Source of the 1556 Huaxian Earthquake |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |volume=125 |issue=12 |doi=10.1029/2019JB017848 |bibcode=2020JGRB..12517848F |s2cid=228829854 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03146461/file/2019JB017848.pdf |access-date=27 June 2022 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022145836/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03146461/file/2019JB017848.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
==Earthquake==
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The earthquake damaged many of the [[Stele Forest|Forest of Stone]] [[stele]]s badly. Of the 114 [[Kaicheng Stone Classics]], 40 were broken in the earthquake.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.silkroadguide.com/xian/xian7.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040816224854/http://www.silkroadguide.com/xian/xian7.htm |archive-date=16 August 2004 |title=MUSEUM OF FOREST OF STONE TABLETS IN XI' AN}}</ref>
 
The scholar [[Qin Keda]] lived through the earthquake and recorded details. One conclusion he drew was that "at the very beginning of an earthquake, people indoors should not go out immediately. Just crouch down and wait. Even if the nest has collapsed, some eggs may remain intact."<ref>[http://smc.kisti.re.kr/quake/relic/rlc06.html Kisti.re.kr] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614103930/http://smc.kisti.re.kr/quake/relic/rlc06.html |date=14 June 2006 }}, China virtual museums quake</ref> The shaking reduced the height of the [[Small Wild Goose Pagoda]] in [[Xi'an]] by three levels.<ref name="Pearson2017">{{cite book|author=Christopher E.M. Pearson|title=1000 Monuments of Genius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCiYCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA73|date=5 September 2017|publisher=ЛитРес|isbn=978-5-457-76702-7|page=73}}</ref>
 
==Geology==
Modern estimates, based on geological data, give the earthquake a magnitude of approximately 8 M<sub>w</sub> on the [[moment magnitude scale]] and XI (catastrophic damage) on the [[Mercalli scale]], though more recent discoveries have shown that it was more likely 7.9 M<sub>w</sub>.<ref name="Int"/> While it was the deadliest earthquake and the [[List of natural disasters by death toll|third-deadliest natural disaster in history]], there have been earthquakes with considerably higher magnitudes. Following the earthquake, [[aftershock]]s continued several times a month for half a year.<ref>[http://www.kepu.ac.cn/english/quake/ruins/rns03.html Kepu.ac.cn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614054257/http://www.kepu.ac.cn/english/quake/ruins/rns03.html |date=14 June 2006 }}, China virtual museums quake</ref>
 
Shaking was felt strongly across the Weihe Basin region. The maximum [[China seismic intensity scale|China seismic intensity]] was XI to XII occurring in Huaxian and Weinan. This would support the theory of the earthquake rupturing along the Huashan and Weinan faults. Intensity VIII was observed throughout the basin and the intensity X+ zone was {{cvt|100|km}} long.<ref name="Feng20">{{cite journal |last1=Feng |first1=X. |last2=Ma |first2=J. |last3=Zhou |first3=Y. |last4=England |first4=P. |last5=Parsons |first5=B. |last6=Rizza |first6=M. A. |last7=Walker |first7=R. T. |title=Geomorphology and Paleoseismology of the Weinan Fault, Shaanxi, Central China, and the Source of the 1556 Huaxian Earthquake |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |date=2020 |volume=125 |issue=12}}</ref>
 
Studies about the earthquake published between 1998 and 2017 presumed scarps along the Huashan and Weinan faults, some highterhigher than {{cvt|8|m}}, were produced by the 1556 earthquake. The fault zone is located northeast of [[Xi'an]]. This normal fault generally trends east–west and dips to the north. A 1995 study said scarps along the Huashan Fault were {{cvt|3–8|m}} high. Near the town of Huashan, the fault [[terrace (geology)|terrace]] contained [[Yangshao culture]] artefacts which were 4,000 years old. In a separate 1998 study, the fault scarps were about {{cvt|4–7|m}} high. Scarps of the Weinan Fault are less detailed in published works with most focused around the [[Chishui River]] area. Two studies in 1992 and 2010 estimated the fault scarps at {{cvt|2–4|m}} and {{cvt|7–8|m}} respectively. There has not been any research to confirm these scarps were produced by the earthquake or formed by multiple events. Assuming both faults ruptured during the earthquake, which runs for a total {{cvt|90|km}}, the {{M|w}} would be 7.0–7.5, according to empirical scaling relationships between magnitude and fault rupture length. This suggest previous values for the earthquake's magnitude were overestimated.<ref name="Feng20" />
 
==Loess caves==
Millions of people at the time lived in [[yaodong]]—artificial loess caves—on high cliffs in the [[Loess Plateau]]. [[loess plateau|Loess]] is the silty soil, deposited on the plateau by windstorms over ages. The soft loess clay is a result of thousands of years of winds carrying [[silt]] from the [[Gobi Desert]] into the area. Loess is a highly erosion-prone soil. It is susceptible to the forces of wind and water.<ref name="Eaton2015">{{cite book|author=Gale Eaton|title=A History of Civilization in 50 Disasters (History in 50)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jMwcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT65|date=23 October 2015|publisher=Tilbury House Publishers|isbn=978-0-88448-407-3|page=65}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=September 2018|reason= Source relies on other tertiary sources; no authoritative source in the food chain. See Talk.}}
 
The Loess Plateau and its dusty soil cover almost all of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces and parts of others. Much of the population lived in yaodongs in these cliffs. This was the major contributing factor to the very high death toll. The earthquake collapsed many caves and caused [[landslide]]s which destroyed many more.<ref name="Eaton2015"/>{{Better source needed|date=September 2018|reason= Source relies on other tertiary sources; no authoritative source in the food chain. See Talk.}}
 
==Affected area==
More than 97 counties in the provinces of Shaanxi, [[Shanxi]], [[Henan]], [[Gansu]], [[Hebei]], [[Shandong]], [[Hubei]], [[Hunan]], [[Jiangsu]] and [[Anhui]] were affected. Buildings were damaged slightly in the cities of [[Beijing]], [[Chengdu]] and [[Shanghai]].<ref>[http://www.kepu.ac.cn/english/quake/ruins/rns03.html Science Museums of China] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614054257/http://www.kepu.ac.cn/english/quake/ruins/rns03.html |date=14 June 2006 }} Museum of Earthquakes, Ruins of Hua County Earthquake (1556)</ref> An {{convert|840|km|mi|adj=mid|-wide}} area was destroyed,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2008/05/china-earthquake-chinas-histor-of-massive-quakes/|title= China's History of Massive Earthquakes|access-date=16 June 2008 |date=12 May 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080514005335/http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2008/05/china-earthquake-chinas-history-of-massive-quakes/| archive-date= 14 May 2008 <!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref> and in some counties as much as 60% of the population was killed.<ref>{{cite web|website=DISASTER PAGES|url=http://www.drgeorgepc.com/EarthquakesChina.html|title=Historical Earthquakes in China|author=George Pararas-Carayannis|language=en|date=23 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507105938/http://www.drgeorgepc.com/EarthquakesChina.html|archive-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> The cost of damage done by the earthquake is almost impossible to measure in modern terms.
 
==Death toll==
Modern estimates put the direct deaths from the earthquake to be probably a little over 100,000, while 730,000 [[Migration in China|migrated]] away or died from [[Famines in China|famine]] and plagues, which summed up to a total loss of 830,000 people in Imperial records.<ref name="2008 Gao"/><ref name="2008 Q&A"/><ref name="2005 Xie"/> It is one of the deadliest [[List of earthquakes in China|earthquakes in China]], in turn making it one of the top [[List of disasters in China by death toll|disasters in China by death toll]].
 
Millions of people at the time lived in [[yaodong]]—artificial loess caves—on high cliffs in the [[Loess Plateau]]. Much of the population in some of the affected areas lived in yaodongs. This was a major contributing factor to the very high death toll. The earthquake collapsed many caves and caused [[landslide]]s which destroyed many more.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paul |first=Bimal Kanti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGsPEAAAQBAJ&dq=loess+cave+dwellings+earthquake&pg=PA30 |title=Disaster Deaths: Trends, Causes and Determinants |date=2020-12-30 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-51197-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bolt |first1=B. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umTmCAAAQBAJ&dq=loess+cave+earthquake+1556+collapse&pg=PA61 |title=Geological Hazards: Earthquakes — Tsunamis — Volcanoes, Avalanches — Landslides — Floods |last2=Horn |first2=W. L. |last3=MacDonald |first3=G. A. |last4=Scott |first4=R. F. |date=2013-12-21 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-86820-7 |language=en}}</ref>
 
==Foreign reaction==
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