明末东北自然灾害与女真族的崛起

The Natural Disasters in Northeastern China in the Late Ming Dynasty and the Rise of Nuzhen People

学术界普遍注意到了自然灾害与明朝灭亡的关系,然对与女真族兴起的关系却关注不够。事实上,明末东北地区自然灾害频仍,促使女真族内部相互攻掠,建州女真乘机兴起。灾荒也成为努尔哈赤起兵反明的因素之一;政策失误与自然灾害交互作用,亦使进入辽东的后金陷入困境。皇太极统治时期灾害不断,他除了调整政策、发挥八旗的作用、逼迫朝鲜提供经济支持,便是大规模掠夺明朝,既削弱了对方,也有助于渐渡危困。但无论明朝灭亡抑或女真族兴起,自然灾害的作用皆视乎王朝政治与人类社会基本状况而定。

Academia have paid much attention to the relationship of the natural disasters and the destruction of the Ming dynasty, but didn＇t pay enough attention to the relationship between the natural disasters and the rise of Nuzhen people. In fact, the natural disasters frequently happened in Northeastern China in the late Ming Dynasty, which brought about conflict among Nuzhen people, and the Jianzhou Nuzhen seized the opportunity to rise up. The natural disaster was one of the factors for the attack of Nurhachu against the Ming dynasty. The interaction of the policy failure and the natural disaster also made the Later Jin who came into Liaodong fall into trouble. In the Huangtaiji period there were lots of disasters. He plundered the Ming dynasty on large scale besides adjusted policies, played the role of the Eight Banners, forced the Korea to provide financial support, which not only weakened the other side, but also helped themselves to get out of the trouble gradually. But either the destruction of the Ming dynasty or the rise of the Nuzhen people, the effect of the natural disasters depends much on dynasty politics and the basic conditions of human society.