1556 The time of the huazhou earthquake

The time of the earthquake in Huazhou

Author Yuan Tinghong, Feng Xijie, etc

The historical information about the Huazhou mega earthquake is very rich, with the deepening of historical seismic research work, many different views have been put forward on the time, place and magnitude of the earthquake, we learn from the research results of predecessors, after in-depth research and systematic analysis, the main earthquake of the Huazhou mega earthquake occurred between 23:00 on January 23, 1556 and 1:00 on January 24, the magnitude was 8/% to 8/%, and the macro epicenter was in Huazhou, Shaanxi.

The difference in topographic height between Xianlin Middle School and the former government compound

There are many historical records about the time of the main earthquake of the Huazhou earthquake, and before how to apply these historical materials to determine the time of the main earthquake, it is necessary to clarify the ancient method of calculating time. In the Ming Dynasty, the lunar calendar was used, with a total of twelve hours throughout the day, and one hour was converted into two hours in modern times.

Using the twelve hours estimation time method, there are still sun shadows and sundials to time during the day. Entering the night timer, there are both hours and five changes, and it is customary to divide the 10 hours of each night from 19:00 to 5:00 the next day into five more (five drums), which corresponds to the twelve hours. The conversion is as follows:

戌時 19~21:00 一更海時 21~23時 二更子時 23~01時 三更不時 01~03時 四更寅時 03~05時 五更But in general, there is no strict boundary between the night time and the hour, the hour and the child, and the child and the ugly time, and it is very difficult to distinguish clearly. As a result, there are many theories such as the time of the sea, the hour of the ugly, the midnight, the first leak, and the second drum. In addition, in ancient times, each day was usually calculated from the morning until dawn. Not the current zero-hour-to-zero-hour. So much so that there are two dates recorded at the same hour, counting the majority of the previous day and a few counting the next day.

For the time of the 1556 Huazhou earthquake, there are 124 records in the historical documents that are more accurate to x days or x days x times, with a total of 124 records in 99 states and counties. Among them, 63 are from the Ming Dynasty Fang Zhi and the inscriptions and epitaphs. The intensity of the state and county above VI is recorded in the time of the occurrence of the main earthquake of the Huazhou earthquake as shown in Table 1. 2. 7, a total of 33 states and counties 55.

In addition to the above table, there are 66 prefectures and counties far from the epicenter, and 69 historical materials also record the occurrence time of the main earthquake of the Huazhou earthquake. In total, there are 99 states and counties in the country, and 124 pieces of information on the time of the Huazhou earthquake. Historical records can be divided into three types from the date of the eleventh day, the twelfth day, and the thirteenth day. From the time, there are three o'clock in the night, three drums at night, haishi (海刻), ziji, zishi (min), sub-night, night, night, night, night, first leak, 壬寅 night, 癸卯夜, Wang, Hai Wei Shi, 戌時 and so on. We focused on the 33 states and counties above vi in the table, a total of 54 records were classified and counted, the results are as follows: (1) Date: 29 states and 43 counties record the time of the Earthquake in Huazhou as December 12, accounting for 80%. (2) Time: Of which 26 in 21 states and counties are recorded as night and midnight, accounting for 48%.13 states and counties are recorded as sub-hours, sub-carvings, three more, and three drums, accounting for 31%.3 articles are recorded in haishi and yin night, accounting for 5% each.There are 4 articles that do not remember specific moments, accounting for 7%.There are also 1%,As mentioned above, considering that there is no strict boundary between the hour and the sub-time, and the night, the midnight and the sub-hour are not in conflict, only the degree of accuracy is different, and the total of the three accounts for 84%.Therefore, This article sets the specific time of the Huazhou earthquake as 12 days.

Judging from the historical records, according to the "Record of rebuilding the Qingfeng Pagoda of Qing'an Temple" erected in Laihua Town, Weinan Province, on the twenty-seventh day of the first month of the 37th year of Jiajing, It is recorded: "Unfortunately, at three o'clock on the night of December 12, 3017, the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing, the earth was shaken...", the time of erection of the monument was only 775 days after the earthquake, and it was located in the polar earthquake area, and the Zhenfeng Pagoda was shaken down, so it is believed that the record should be credible. Jiajing's "Monument to the Rebuilding of Longquan Temple" also records: "Jiajing thirty-four years of winter twelve nights and three drums, Guanzhong earthquake ... ·", also clearly recorded as "Three Drums of the Night". In addition, the three officials and literati who were in the earthquake zone at that time also recorded their personal experiences at the time of the earthquake, which also provided quite credible evidence for determining the time of the main earthquake. Li Tingbao, who was then the governor of Yaozhou Prefecture, wrote in the "Rebuilding the Temple Study record and poetry stele": · · On the twelfth day of December, yu did not sleep, suddenly came from the southeast, the terrain shook, and the sound was like thunder. ·. Zhao Shichun, then the prefect of Pingliang, wrote in the "Ancient Collected Writings of Zhao Jun": "There is a night in the tenth month of February, and the sea is missing, the earth is shaking, the sound is like thunder, until the beginning of the ugly and ugly is the end..." Qin Keda of Shizhi Chang'an later wrote in the Earthquake Chronicle: "... On the second day of the tenth, the Guanzhong earthquake, ... When the time is more than four, the momentum is even greater, the sound is as terrible as ten thousand thunder, and more than five drums are less certain." These historical materials further confirm the time of the main earthquake.

In summary, from the twelfth day of December in the 34th year of Ming Jiajing to the ugly day of the thirteenth day, it should be the most likely time for the main earthquake of the Huazhou earthquake. According to the time records of most prefectures and counties in the high intensity area, the main earthquake time of this earthquake is set as: the twelfth day of December in the 34th year of Jiajing, that is, between 23:00 on January 23, 1556 and 1:00 on January 24, 1556.

Original source: "Huaxian Earthquake"

Original authors: Yuan Tinghong, Feng Xijie, etc

Compilation and editing: Huazhou Literature and History Collection