Chiefly due to its size and topographic make-up," Ching has a fre-Gueney of floods and droughts unequalled perhaps in any other country. "A study made by the College of Agriculture of the University. of Nanking -shows that during the 2,019 years between 108 B.C. and 1911 A.D. there were 1,828 years when severe food shortage was felt in some part of Chin Records also show that since the establishment of the Chinese Repub-We in 1911, there have been" no less than fifteen serious floods along the Yellow "River, widely. known as "China's Sorrow." According to reports received by the China International Famine Relief Commission, there have been at least 70 serious floods and droughts. in China from 1020-1935. Only three of the eight provinces have not had serious floods or droughts and only two of the Afteen years' have been free from famines, What do these recurring calamities mean to China?
First of all, they have destroyed Snnumerable human tives. The North China famine in 1020 affected a total population of 20,000,000; of "which about one-fourth died of starvation, and disease, The 1931 ood along the Yangtze affected 28,000,000 peop! as a result of that, catastrophe, te death rate became twice as high as the ordinary. During the drought-famine in. northwestern China from 1929 to 1030, it was estimated that Kansu province alone ost 2,000,000 people through starvation and typhus. Each famine meant a further cheap: ening of human life, standard of living among turmers is $0 low. that whenever @ flood or drought thr ens a shortage of food, they are Invariably forced to, take desperate measures to protect themselves. from starvation. tu some parts of China, famine conditions get. s0 severe that are compelled to sell every bit' of their belongings and properties In order to eke out an existence,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.