This summer is very hot, and now it has reached the middle of the volt season, and the temperature can be imagined. Modern people can be described as a variety of tricks to escape the heat, blowing air conditioners, electric fans, eating cold drinks, wearing thin clothes, etc., too many to list.
What about the ancient summer heat? In fact, as early as the Qianlong period more than two hundred years ago, there was a record of high temperatures known as the "hottest summer".
First, the "Fushan County Chronicle" records the "hottest summer"
The eighth year of Qianlong was originally a bland year, but because of the emergence of the "hottest summer", it was recorded in the "Fushan County Chronicle".
It is recorded that in the summer of this year, due to the average temperature of 40 ° C, coupled with the limited summer conditions of ordinary people, many people walking on the road have died due to high temperatures.
Especially the People of Fushan, because they could not stand the high temperature weather, there was a large number of deaths, so they were recorded in the "Chronicle of Fushan County".
During the Qing Dynasty, The Floating Mountains belonged to Linfen City, Shanxi, and in addition to the large number of local heat deaths, many of the Floating Mountain people who did business in the capital were also heated to death.
According to historians' careful calculations, from July 20 to 25, 1743, the average temperature of these six days was as high as 40 °C, especially on July 25, when the temperature reached 44.4.
This temperature is also the highest summer temperature today, it can be said that the summer of the eighth year of Qianlong was like a catastrophe, and the heat died of about tens of thousands of people.
This can be found in the "Chronicle of Gaoyi County" in the Republic of China period, and the corresponding written record can be found:
"From May 28 to the first Saturday of June, the weather was unbearable, the walls were as hot as fire, the sun was particularly poisonous, and many people died of hot thirst."
The lunar calendar time corresponds to the Gregorian calendar time, so the "hottest summer" of the eighth year of Qianlong makes people feel the threat of high temperature weather to life, so how hot is the eighth year of Qianlong?
Second, the "hottest summer" in the Qianlong Edict
In the eighth year of Qianlong, that is, in 1743 AD, the 32-year-old Qianlong Emperor issued a 55-character holy decree:
"Since the beginning of May, Kyoshi. The weather is harsh. And steaming in the heat. Worse than in previous years. The details are raised in the heavens to show their signs. The night is sad. Don't let go. All are due to the loss of decay, or the inadequacy of employment administration. "I am saying that since May, the weather in the Beijing area has been hotter than ever, and I think day and night, maybe it is my fault that I did not do a good job in government affairs.
The nine words "and steaming in the summer, more than in previous years" are enough to confirm that the "hottest summer" is not a rumor. Moreover, the high temperature phenomenon in the summer of Qianlong in the eighth year was hotter than in many previous years.
Judging from the general meaning of the edict, it is said that there are many tools in the palace to cool off the heat, but what should the people do? The young, conceited emperor blamed himself for the disaster caused by the hot weather.
This alone is enough to see that the temperature at that time was absolutely outrageous. Otherwise, ordinary people will not die because of the heat, so many historians believe that the eight years of Qianlong may be the hottest year in history.
Third, how the people of the Qing Dynasty cooled down
The Qianlong Emperor could hide in the imperial palace and enjoy the air conditioning of the ancient air conditioner, that is, the "ice book", and at the same time enjoy the fruits and ice wine of the ice cube town.
If there are no palace women fanning fans for him, how should ordinary people cool down? In fact, although they cannot enjoy the treatment of "ice identification", they can also use ice to reduce the harm of high temperature weather.
After the rivers freeze in the northern winter, there will be special ice diggers to dig ice cubes, which will be stored in ice cellars and used in the summer.
According to historical records, there are eighteen large ice cellars around Beijing, which can be used by imperial relatives and nobles in summer. These ice cubes are placed in the "ice book", and then they emit air conditioning-like air conditioning.
Of course, if you want to be cooler inside the house, you need to have the servant fan the "ice book" with a fan. The more you can "ice", the cooler the house will be.
Ordinary people can't afford to use ice cubes, so they can only use cold well water to take a bath. Or put the fruit in a basket and send it into the well, which can actually have a chilling effect.
Another way is to sleep in the "dragon skin", which is a legendary rare treasure that only the emperor and his concubines and children can enjoy.
It is said that after the arrival of summer, the "dragon skin" needs to be immersed in water to be cold, and the people who sleep on the "dragon skin" are as cool as lying on the waterbed.
When the summer heat was unbearable, the emperor went to the summer resort to escape the heat, such as the "Chengde Summer Resort", which was the royal official of the Qing Dynasty.
In summer, the temperature is lower than in other places due to the lingering landscape. Ordinary people, on the other hand, can only hide in their own thatched huts or in the shade of trees to cool off from the heat.
Conclusion
Northerners often look forward to the arrival of winter when the weather is particularly hot in the summer. On the contrary, in the cold winter of the number nine, there is hope that summer can be called.
In fact, due to the abnormal climate of ancient society, the "hottest summer" will occur in the eighth year of Qianlong. Due to the limited summer conditions at that time, the people would die of heat.