Based on historical records and crop harvest scores extracted from
historical documents, this study reconstructed the spatial-temporal
distribution and severities of floods in the Yangtze-Huai River valley
in 1823 and 1849. We also summarized the effects of the floods on
society and identified government measures taken to cope with the floods
in the context of the economic recession in the period of 1801--1850.
The 1823 flood, which was caused by the heavy precipitation of the Meiyu
period and typhoons, severely affected areas in the lower reaches of the
Yangtze River. Meanwhile, the 1849 flood, triggered by long-term,
high-intensity Meiyu precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of
the Yangtze River, mainly affected areas along the Yangtze River. The
1849 disaster was more serious than the one in 1823. In the lower
reaches of the Yangtze River, the 1849 flood caused the worst
agricultural failure of the period 1730--1852. To deal with the
disasters, the Qing government took relief measures, such as exempting
taxes in the affected areas, distributing grain stored in warehouses,
and transferring grain to severely afflicted areas. These relief
measures were supplemented by auxiliary measures, such as exempting
commodity taxes on grain shipped to disaster areas and punishing
officials who failed to provide adequate disaster relief. The flood
disasters disrupted the water system of the Grand Canal and forced the
Qing government to transport Cao rice by sea beginning in 1826. This
laid the groundwork for the rise of coastal shipping in modern China.
With the economic recession of the 19th century, Chinese society was not
as resilient to floods as it was in the 18th century. Compared to
droughts, floods are more difficult to deal with and pose greater
threats to infrastructure and to normal life and work in the cities.