4 Elements: Water

t?sse?a st???e?a: ?e?? ?e??: mainland china- the year is 1930 and the people of china have been suffering for 2 years now because of widespread drought which caused famine in three northern provinces, that of gansu, henan & shaanxi--- said to have killed nearly 3 million people, the famine’s strength had much to do with the weak relief efforts of then republic of china. the winter of 1930 brought with it snowstorms bearing oddly heavy amounts which then melted away quickly in the spring bringing with it the heightening of the yellow river, huai river & the yangtze. heavy rain pelted down upon the already overflowing rivers & through the summer months of 1931 this area which normally receives 2 cyclones a year, underwent the chaotic pummeling of no less than 7 in july alone. while estimates of those that died from the destruction caused by these floods range from 3.7 million to 4 with an overall 28.5 million “having been affected by them,” it is extremely difficult for a person living in the comfortable convenience of western civilization to fathom the mass drowning & the expansive coverage of land by water in this natural disaster, which to this day is considered to be the worst in recorded human history. on top of the deaths from the floods themselves & the diseases like cholera & typhus which proliferated under such circumstances, the unique chaos that came with the complete breakdown of societal norms in hubei, hunan, jiangxi, wuhan, chongqing, hanyang & hankou brought with it infanticide & cannibalism, as well as the sale of daughters & wives.