University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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FAMINES AND TTTEIR PREVENTION 57 Crowded populations have therefore long been at the mercy of recurring cycles of drought and excessive rainfall. And the common belief Knot always exclusively Chinesej that famines were visitations from the displeased gods operated against any very far reaching pre- ventative measures. The granary system--possibly not unlike that of Pharoah's time-was generally in use in China, yet it failed to pre- vent recurring disasters. The fundamental causes of famines were not generally under- stood. They were attributed to the consequence of draught and floods against which the Chinese felt impotent. While droughts in other A home of the all too large numbers of people whose margin between production and consumption is dangerously small. countries may cause hard times, they do not cause famines. So a more fundamental cause must be found. The American Red Cross Report on China Famine Relief 1922 says. A population with ac- cumulated property can withstand an occasional Hood or drought provided it has access to the sources of food supply on the outside. But Chinese farmers have little accumulated property and a very de- ficient access to outside sources of supply. While there are several recognized contributing factors, the fundamental cause is the low economic condition of the rural populations. Fully 80 percent of the population is rural, deriving its livelihood chiefly from the cultivation of the soil. The margin between production and consumption is so small that a short harvest causes sullering and a crop failure produces famine conditions. In the famine of 1920-1921-out of a population of 48,843,000 affected, 19,895,000 were entirely destitute after a year and a half of drought, and those not destitute were unable to give aid to their less fortunate fellow men. Altogether insufficient oc- cupations of gain-exist for the farmer during the winter or idle months. He can expect to accumulate little sttplus, if any, from the normal harvests.

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56 THE LINGUIST .Transportption in the interior. The wheelbarrow is the truck of the rural sections of Qhma, and transports more tonnage than any other agency. unless it be the carrying pole. I A Chinese saw mill: Practically all the lumber used in the interior of Chlll21.lS sawed in this manner. , Without.uniform.1x1dus.trl,alHprogress a modern sawmill would create the unemployment problem in China, -

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58 'I'l-IE LINGUIST Several factors contribute to this condition of approximate poverty. Over crowding on cultivated land is one of them. A study of twenty seven farm villages revealed that the cultivated land was supporting over 1200 persons to the square mile. Another is the absence of sufficient rural improvements, such as sufficient and deeper wells, irrigation systems and roads. Another is the low average productivity of crops due to insect infestations, fungal diseases or inferior crop plants. And yet another is the general deforestation of the hills and mountains. This denudation is judged sufficient to convert a more general distribution of rainfall into the cloudburst typeg to produce extreme stages of high and low water in the river systems, and to cause the erosion of the soil from the uplands and to transport it to the lower reaches of the rivers where it silts up the river beds, interfering with irrigatiompreventing navigation and causing widespread floodstYellow Riverj. Still another factor is the small use made of the wide areas of hill and mountain land that might profitably be growing forests to create communal wealth, to furnish profitable occupation for the farmer during the otherwise idle winter months and to furnish raw materials for the development of industry as well as other beneficial results. Sure indications of famine areg people begin to eat Hower seeds, fullers earth, corn cobs, leaf dust, elmbark, roots, tree leaves etcetera for food they remove the wood beams from house roofs for fuel and for saleg farm animals disappear from the country sideg farm im- plements are sold for the wood contained in themg people begin to migrateg families sell their children,-first the girls for servants, con- cubines, secondary wives or prostitutes, and lastly the boys 5 the death rate becomes excessive. Such are some of the indices that a famine is abroad in the land. ' Famines consume the substance of a countryg they leave the sur- viving population with the meagerest resources,-often without farm animals, implements or even seed grain for planting the next crop. The relief by outside agencies during famine does not materially alter this result. The baneful effects linger for years. Progress in all activities is thrown backward. Natural resources lie idle undeveloped, commerce with the outside world is stopped and the development of the intellectual and spiritual capacities of a people is stiiicd. The measures of permanent famine prevention may be divided into two broad classificationsg Q15 large scale engineering projects including flood control and river training and Q25 the general im- provement of the economic status of the rural population: The large scale engineering projects will be most suitably handled by river com- Nllltlrll -lx lmQx1 :R V s-f- EWG .4 I E WX ,f ,eitltml , -3 ' ' ' i g griii- Q .- , z ff- - -,- M . ug g4:Af'r: fl f .