The spatial and temporal characteristics of epidemics in China from the 6th to 8th centuries and the prevalence of plague
GONG Shengsheng1， XIAO Yongzhi2， LI Zimo3， ZHANG Tao1，XIE Haichao4， SHI Guoning5， CHEN Fahu6
(1.College of Urban and Environmental Sciences， Central China Normal University，Wuhan 430079， China；2.Institute of Chinese Medical History and Documentation， China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences， Beijing 10070， China；3.College of Tourism and Economic Management， Nanchang Normal University， Nanchang 330032， China；4.State Key Laboratory of Earth Systems and Resources and Environment of the Tibetan Plateau， Institute of Tibetan Plateau， Chinese Academy of Sciences， Beijing 100101， China；5.School of Economics and Management， Handan University， Handan 056006， Hebei， China；6.Paleoecology and Human Adaptation Team， Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research， Chinese Academy of Sciences， Beijing 100101， China)
Abstract：In order to explore the epidemic situation of plague in China during the world's first plague pandemic(541-750 C.E.)， based on the Compilation of historical data on plagues in China for three thousand years and the latest research and revision， a brief chronology of plagues in China from the 6th to 8th centuries was compiled. The spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the disaster， the possibility of bubonic plague epidemic in China， and the possibility of mutual transmission of plague between China and Central Asia and Europe were analyzed. The main conclusions are as follows. 1) The 6th to 8th centuries were in the late period of high prevalance of epidemics in the Wei， Jin， Southern and Northern Dynasties and the early stage of prevalance low of epidemics in the Tang Dynasty. Generally speaking， they were a period of relatively few epidemics， with only 48 years of epidemics in 3 centuries. On a century scale， the frequency of epidemics shows a downward trend. There were 17 major plague years. Generally speaking， epidemics are more common in spring and summer， while major plagues mostly occur in summer， autumn， and winter. The average frequency of epidemic disasters is 15.33%， genevally exhibiting a downward trend. Both the decade epidemic frequency index and the epidemic level index have fluctuation cycles on three time scales： 280 a， 100 a， and 50 a. 2) China has records of plague as early as the 3rd century C.E. During the world's first plague pandemic， the terms such as “evil core”， “Lu sore”， “moving swollen”， “high fever”， “painful headache”. are all descriptions of certain aspects of the bubonic plague symptoms，indicating that bubonic plague was prevalent in China during this period. 3) The occurrence of plague worldwide has multiple sources. Central Asia is the ancient natural source of plague. During the first plague pandemic， plague in China was mainly imported by nomads from Central Asia through war，of which northwest China bore the brunt. It was the area where plague was most prevalent from the 6th to 8th century.
龚胜生,肖永芝,李孜沫,张 涛,谢海超,石国宁,陈发虎. 6—8世纪中国疫灾的时空特征及鼠疫流行[J]. 华中师范大学学报(自然科学版), 2023, 57(5): 627-640.
GONG Shengsheng,XIAO Yongzhi,LI Zimo,ZHANG Tao,XIE Haichao,SHI Guoning,CHEN Fahu. The spatial and temporal characteristics of epidemics in China from the 6th to 8th centuries and the prevalence of plague. journal1, 2023, 57(5): 627-640.
2023, Vol. 57 
