江南記憶：萬曆年間的大水災與社會反應

Social Reaction to Jiangnan Delta Flooding in the Reign of the Emperor Wanli

江南為水鄉澤國，歷來水患頻繁。在明代萬曆年間，危害深重、影響較大的水災，發生於萬曆十五年與萬曆三十六年。這都成了萬曆朝至清代初期人們的普遍認識，以及江南地方講求水利、荒政的重要比照。對於大災的記錄，主要見於江南地方官紳的筆錄、官方史書及地方志的記載中。從中可以概見時人的水災記憶，以及從朝廷至地方的調控情況。特別是其間呈現的民生救濟與官紳們的活動，為探討明代後期江南社會的變化、地方利益與王朝統治的關係以及江南官紳階層的複雜網絡與社會影響，提供了不少素材。 This article explores social change in the Jiangnan region during the late Ming through a focus on the severe flooding that occurred during the fifteenth and thirty-sixth years of the Wanli reign period. The details of these natural disasters are found in a variety of sources (officers’ corpus, country gentlemens’ autobiographical collections, and the official history to name a few). These collected disaster memories illuminate the relationship between local interest and dynasty control, changes in crisis-response attitude on the part of officials, and the influence of the gentry class in the Jiangnan region.

This article explores social change in the Jiangnan region during the late Ming through a focus on the severe flooding that occurred during the fifteenth and thirty-sixth years of the Wanli reign period. The details of these natural disasters are found in a variety of sources (officers’ corpus, country gentlemens’ autobiographical collections, and the official history to name a few). These collected disaster memories illuminate the relationship between local interest and dynasty control, changes in crisis-response attitude on the part of officials, and the influence of the gentry class in the Jiangnan region.