When there was a famine in ancient times, why did the victims let the fish and shrimp in the river not catch, but preferred to eat grass roots and gnaw the bark of trees?
Natural disasters, this ruthless fate, mean that the bitterness of the years will be wiped out, and sometimes even threaten the survival of livelihoods. In some places, the people were even forced to resort to extreme measures, such as changing their children to eat, just to fill their empty stomachs.
Both dry land and unforgiving winters can be a nightmare for farmers, pushing them to the brink of famine. However, in this gamble of survival, the people never stopped fighting, and despite the thorns in life's path, they continued to move forward tenaciously.
When disasters struck, ancient people were often forced to find other sources of food, even if they could not meet their needs, but were enough to sustain the faint flames of life. Picking wild fruits became a means of survival, and along the winding paths of the mountains and forests, people braved fatigue and searched for nature's generous gifts. Wild fruits may be sour or slightly bitter, but they represent the tenacity of life, a protest against difficult circumstances.
The bark and grass roots have become people's last reliance, the last ray of hope they are looking for on the edge of despair. The people discovered the edible value of the bark, and although it was dry and hard to chew, the mouthful of wood fiber, filling the empty stomach, seemed to declare their tenacity in silence.
The grass roots, on the other hand, became the last straw of life, chewing the hard rhizomes, and the people tenaciously bit this fragile hope, not wanting to be consumed by hunger.
This is the story of the ancient people struggling on the edge of life, an epic of living in a harsh natural environment. Their lives may be difficult or poor, but their will is as tough as steel and refuses to give up. In the stormy years, they drew strength from nature, and with strong determination and wisdom, they composed a ballad full of the spirit of resistance.
Years Drift: Drought in the North and the Rulers' Difficult Choices
In ancient northern China, drought was a frequent visitor, frequent visits to this vast land, bringing widespread crop failure. Although floods occasionally occur, such sights are relatively rare in the north.
The land itself is barren, making it difficult to easily produce large amounts of food, which, combined with occasional weather disturbances, makes the disaster haunt all year round.
The drought in the north, once it comes, is like a ruthless trial, and its destructive power cannot be underestimated. Under the relentless rays of the sun, the farmland gradually lost its vitality, and the crops withered one by one under the torment of drought, pushing the people to the abyss of hunger.
In this region with a large population, food shortages can trigger a disastrous chain reaction. The threat of hunger is like an invisible knife that constantly scrapes through the hearts of the people, making them struggle to survive in hardship.
However, for the rulers of ancient China, the problem of disasters in the north was particularly urgent. The center of their rule is usually located in the Central Plains region in the north, where the lifeblood of the state, the symbol of power. So when the drought strikes, they have to face the daunting task of sending officials to carry food to the disaster area to carry out emergency relief operations.
These officials are messengers sent by the rulers and the light of hope for life. They traveled thousands of miles across the wilderness and mountains to deliver food to the disaster areas.
Despite the limited relief capacity, this measure can at least alleviate the disaster to some extent and convey the ruler's deep concern for the people. Their arrival is like a clear spring, nourishing the thirsty hearts of the people and making hope bloom again.
In this long course of history, the problem of drought in the north became a headache for the rulers. Not only do they have to deal with political struggles and internal and external threats, but they also have to deal with the unpredictability of nature. The advent of the drought has plunged them into a game of ideas and policies. How to distribute enough food to the victims with limited resources has become a headache.
Despite the passage of time, the rulers and the people are struggling with the challenges of nature, but the story is still admirable. The drought in the north not only tested people's wisdom and perseverance, but also demonstrated the ruler's sense of responsibility to the country and the people.
The Grace of Rivers: Hunger and Nature in the Disaster Areas of the Ancient North
In the ancient northern disaster areas, people rarely had the opportunity to enjoy the delicious fish and shrimp in the river. This is not because they are not interested in these underwater treasures, but because of the scarcity of northern rivers, small rivers often dry up during droughts, making it impossible to fish for abundant fish and shrimp.
Although large rivers are rich in aquatic life, they are difficult to catch because conditions do not allow. Getting involved in it can be an adventure, even a life-threatening risk, and it's not worth the risk.
As a result, people in the affected areas in the north tend to rely on other resources in nature for their survival. They searched for bark and grass roots, which, though rough, became the last straw of their lives.
In the cold winter, they may peel off the bark, and although difficult to chew, this is the only way to fill an empty stomach. The grassroots became the last hope, and the hard rhizomes became in their mouths a tenacious protest, a gesture of refusal to yield.
However, this is not because they do not yearn for the richness of the river, but because of the cruelty of nature to them. In times of disaster, they cherish nature's gifts even more, but they also deeply understand the dangers of wading into rivers. After each disaster, they may look into the distant river, but the desire to survive has led them to choose a more conservative approach.
In this ancient era, people in the northern disaster areas, although they passed by the delicacy of fish and shrimp, their lives were as tough as steel. They write the legend of survival in the embrace of nature, with firm will and wisdom, accompanied by hunger and coexisting with disaster.
