From a unique perspective of climate history, this book demonstrates how the extreme conditions of the Little Ice Age pushed the empire beyond its survival threshold, overturning the traditional narrative that the Ming dynasty's fall was caused by Chongzhen's incompetence and the southward migration of the Manchus. Around the 14th century, the Northern Hemisphere's climate began to cool, reaching its peak in the 17th century. Over these three centuries, intermittent bouts of dry and cold weather, followed by a persistent dry and cold climate around the 1640s, gradually undermined the Ming dynasty's agricultural foundations, leading to a slide from localized famine during the Yongle reign to the nationwide collapse of the food system during the Chongzhen reign.
本书从气候史的独特角度切入, 论证小冰期的极端环境如何突破帝国的生存阈值, 颠覆“崇祯能力不足、满人南下等造成明亡”的传统叙事。约14世纪, 北半球的气候开始转寒, 17世纪达到顶点。在这三个世纪内, 间歇性的干冷以及17世纪40年代左右的持续性干冷气候一步步摧毁了明朝的农业根基, 使其从永乐年间的局部饥荒滑向崇祯朝全国性的粮食体系的崩溃。
本书从气候史的独特角度切入, 论证小冰期的极端环境如何突破帝国的生存阈值, 颠覆“崇祯能力不足、满人南下等造成明亡”的传统叙事。约14世纪, 北半球的气候开始转寒, 17世纪达到顶点。在这三个世纪内, 间歇性的干冷以及17世纪40年代左右的持续性干冷气候一步步摧毁了明朝的农业根基, 使其从永乐年间的局部饥荒滑向崇祯朝全国性的粮食体系的崩溃。
