Ancient Beijing encountered a "haze disaster": Ming and Qing Dynasties sent officials to worship heaven and ban the world

The pollution of air quality caused by smog has now attracted more and more attention from the whole society. At present, in addition to strict control of motor vehicle exhaust emissions and dust on construction sites, a three-month city-wide special rectification action against restaurant fumes will also be launched in full swing. When did "smog" weather begin? Are there any historical records of smog weather in Beijing?

In the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty,"fog locked the capital" and "the capital was hidden in the wind and haze"

Beijing is located in the north of my country, with a dry climate, especially long winter, and only more than 200 kilometers away from the desert in the north. Haze weather is prone to occur. Historically, it is known as "haze disaster","rain haze","wind haze","soil rain", etc. There are many records in historical materials such as "Beijing Meteorological Annals","Beijing Disaster History","Yuan History","Ming Record" and "Qing Record".

The earliest records of it can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty. According to records in the History of the Yuan Dynasty: In March of the second year of the Yuan calendar (1329), due to no snow in winter and little rain in spring, the weather was unusually dry, resulting in "rain and haze","the sky is dark and it is difficult to see the sun, passers-by are hiding their faces." In the twelfth month of the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1340),"most of the fog was locked, and the sun was not seen for many days. The gate of the capital was hidden in the wind and haze"."The wind and haze covered the capital for several days. The emperor feared the anger of the gods. He sent the Ministry of Rites to burn incense and worship heaven. He prayed that the gods would dispel the wind and haze." It can be seen that the two "haze disasters" recorded in the historical records of the Yuan Dynasty lasted for a long time and the visibility was very low.

In the ten years of Hongzhi of Ming Dynasty,"dust accumulation is difficult to see passers-by" and "the government army half-covers the city gate to hide dust"

By the Ming Dynasty, records of "haze disasters" gradually increased. In the early spring of the fourth year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, 1468, the "Record of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty" records: "This year, from spring to summer, the weather has been cold and miserable, and the wind and haze have been cloudy... In the past one or two days, yellow fog has covered the sky, and no stars and sun have been seen day and night." In April of the 17th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1481),"the wind was fierce for several days, and the sky was shrouded by dust and haze." The twenty-first year of Chenghua (1485),"At the end of the first month, the haze in the capital covered the sky, and it dissipated from morning to noon." "Three days later, the haze rose again and lasted for five days. As a result, the water transportation slowed down and the rice storage in the official warehouses of the capital was in urgent need." The tenth year of Hongzhi, 1497), the Ministry of Rites reported: "The capital had no snow last winter... This spring is windy and cloudy." "Haze and dust accumulate outside Xizhimen, making it difficult to see passers-by. The government troops half-closed the gate to cover the haze and dust." 1583),"On the first day of the first month, the wind and haze in the capital. In February, there was a haze in the capital. In April, Grand Scholar Zhang Siwei and others said: 'The wind and haze are steep, and the yellow sand covers the sky.'" "We haven't seen the West Mountain for five days. Some hungry people have entered the city to beg, and the good people in the temple have given them." Dozens of similar "haze disasters" were recorded in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty.

In the 15th year of Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty,"Qiongdao was locked by fog and haze" and "Coal mountains were hidden in wind, haze, soil and rain"

There were many "haze disasters" in the Qing Dynasty. In the 60th year of Kangxi (1721),"Today's Trial" was released. Yellow fog filled the sky and the haze covered the sky. With such a strong wind, the list will be damaged." 15th year of Jiaqing 1810)"After the capital entered the twelfth lunar month, there were sometimes fog and haze rising, and it stayed all night long. Wanping and Daxing reported it." "Qiongdao is now in the Beihai Sea) is shrouded by fog and haze, and it is difficult to see its true appearance. The coal mountains are hidden in the wind, haze, earth and rain, and the palace people are hidden in the hall. They are visited from time to time." Sixth Year of Xianfeng (1856),"Since the beginning of winter, there has been little snow and more fog, and soil, rain, wind and haze have come to the capital, with Changping and Wanping being the strongest." In short,"haze disasters" come to the capital every few years, mostly concentrated in winter and spring.

In ancient times, when science was not yet developed, people had very little understanding of smog, so the extent, concentration, scope and harm of smog could only be based on their feelings and only the disaster was recorded. There was no record on how to prevent "haze disasters".

In historical materials before the Yuan Dynasty

Why is "smog" so rare?

Why did smog, which was rarely seen in historical materials before the Yuan Dynasty, often visit the capital during the Ming and Qing Dynasties? Some meteorologists believe that: first, there were very few records of meteorological data about the Beijing area before the Yuan Dynasty, especially the lack of recording and sorting of "original meteorological data", which gradually increased during the Ming and Qing Dynasties; second, it has a great relationship with Beijing's geography. The terrain of Beijing is surrounded by mountains on three sides, forming a "Beijing Bay" from northwest to southeast. It is gradually located in an open plain area from northwest to southeast. The atmosphere easily forms an inversion layer. There is no wind, meteorological conditions are extremely stable, and fog and wind haze are the most easy to gather. Third, before the Yuan Dynasty, the Beijing area did not form a large city size, sparsely populated, and relatively low haze weather occurred. Fourth, as the scale of cities expanded after the Ming Dynasty, the number of buildings continued to increase, the speed of air flow decreased, and the probability of smog increased accordingly.

The ancients had a very superficial understanding of smog disasters. People often thought that it was a "haze disaster" caused by God, so they asked for blessings from the gods,"in order to move God and provide rain."

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, when emperors encountered a "haze disaster", they sent civil and military officials to fast for three days and banned slaughtering in the world, or sent civil and military officials to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven, hoping that the gods could dispel the haze and send rain. The biggest harm of "haze disasters" is their impact on transportation, which was also true in ancient times. Water transportation was prevalent during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, that is, ships using canals to transport grain to the capital. When the "haze disaster" occurred, the waterway was difficult to pass, and the storage capacity of granary in the capital decreased sharply, and there were emergencies from time to time. In the 23rd year of Qianlong (1758), a "haze disaster" occurred in the first month. The haze persisted for several days, causing water transportation on the Tonghui River to stop and many granaries in the capital to be in emergency. In addition to sending officials to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven, Emperor Qianlong also personally led princes and ministers to burn incense in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. It is said that during the Guangxu period, there was a serious "haze disaster" in the capital that persisted for several days. The Empress Dowager Cixi also ordered people to "sacrifice heaven to dispel the haze" in the Forbidden City. When people encounter "haze disasters", people often go to the Dragon King Temple to worship the Dragon King to "dispel the haze and pray for rain", and take corresponding measures in crop planting. For example, in the early spring of the fifty-fourth year of Kangxi (1715), there was a "haze disaster". Farmers in the capital "thinning the seedlings slightly during the harvesting season to prevent wind haze."