杨东明《饥民图说》与万历二十一年河南洪灾

Yang Dongming's Illustration of Starving Citizens and the Henan Flood in the TwentyFirst Year of the Wanli's Reign Period

万历二十一年(1593)黄河决堤,给河南造成了巨大灾害,直接导致了河南甲午之荒。次年,杨东明便向万历上疏《饥民图说》诉说虞城灾情,书中可见洪水摧拉舍庐,麦禾颗粒无收,流民闾阎枵腹。杨东明采用图文并茂的文体结构、通俗直白的俚语书写,客观上促成了万历帝派遣官员前去蠲赈救荒之举,一定程度上消弭了河南洪灾后的生灵涂炭之景。

In the twenty-first year of Wanli's reign period in the Ming Dynasty,the breach of the river banks along the Yellow River resulted in catastrophic devastation in Henan,directly causing the famine in Henan.Subsequently,Yang Dongming penned Illustration of Starving Citizens,a poignant memorial,to the emperor,articulating the harrowing plight of people in Yucheng with the disaster.His narrative vividly portrayed the relentless onslaught of floodwaters,the decimation of crops,and the destitution endured by displaced masses.Yang Dongming's masterful integration of illustrations and vernacular prose made the Emperor of Wanli dispatch officials for relief efforts,thus mitigating the anguish inflicted upon the populace of Henan in the aftermath of the flood calamity.