τέσσερα στοιχεία: νερό

νερό:  mainland china-

           the year is 1930 and the

           people of china have

           been suffering for 2

           years now because of

           widespread drought which

           caused famine in three

           northern provinces, that of

           gansu, henan & shaanxi---

           said to have killed nearly

           3 million people, the famine’s

           strength had much to do with

           the weak relief efforts of then

           republic of china.

 

           the winter of 1930 brought

           with it snowstorms bearing oddly

           heavy amounts which then

           melted away quickly in the spring

           bringing with it the heightening of

           the yellow river, huai river & the

           yangtze.

 

           heavy rain pelted down upon the

           already overflowing rivers & through the

           summer months of 1931 this area which

           normally receives 2 cyclones a year,

           underwent the chaotic pummeling of

           no less than 7 in july alone.

 

           while estimates of those that died

           from the destruction caused by these

           floods range from 3.7 million to

           4 with an overall 28.5 million “having

           been affected by them,” it is

           extremely difficult for a person

           living in the comfortable convenience

           of western civilization to fathom

           the mass drowning & the expansive

           coverage of land by water in this

           natural disaster, which to this day is

           considered to be the worst in recorded

           human history. 

 

           on top of the deaths from the floods

           themselves &  the diseases like

           cholera & typhus which proliferated

           under such circumstances, the unique

           chaos that came with the complete

           breakdown of societal norms in hubei,

           hunan, jiangxi, wuhan, chongqing,

           hanyang & hankou brought with it

           infanticide & cannibalism, as well as

           the sale of daughters & wives.