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| Chinese famine of 1906–1907 | |
|---|---|
A beggar on the street in circa 1907.[1]
| |
| Country |  China |
| Location | Northern Anhui and northern Jiangsu |
| Period | 1906–1907 |
| Total deaths | 20 million - 25 million |
| Theory | 1906 China floods, poor harvest |
| Relief | Thousands of tons of food donated via private donations[1] |
| Consequences | Contributed to the causes of the 1911 Revolution[1]
|
The Chinese famine of 1906–1907 struck the middle and lower course of Huai RiverinQing 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]
On 21 December 1906, Shen Bao reported 16 counties in northern Anhui to have particular high mortalities.[5] The edictbyEmperor Guangxu on 9 February 1907 waived agricultural taxes to 40 counties in northern Anhui.[6] The 40 counties were:[7]
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]
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 modern commentaries 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]
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]
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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.
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。
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男女合计：25883336[permanent dead link]
1911年：口 16229052
