The YellowRiver:Angel or Devil
5 min read1.Frequent Disasters Caused Human Suffering
The Yellow River，which had nurtured the ancestors of the Chinese people from barbarism to civilization，is called the cradle of the Chinese people.We could evensay that the Yellow River is the angel that brings light and wisdomfor the Chinese people.
However，the Yellow River has long been considered as the”Sorrow of China”.In the long history of the Yellow River development，because of the natural and social factors，the Yellow River，like a savage beast，swallowed stretches of fertile lands，claimed countless lives and ruined numerous cities and towns，therefore it is also called”River the Wicked”，”River of Misfortune”and”River of Disaster”.
Thus the Yellow River–sometimes being angel and somtimes devil，is both useful and harmful.
The disasters that the Yellow River brings to the people alongside the river are mainly floods.
Because the rainfall of the Yellow River Basin is mainly in summer and usually in the form of continuous deluge，therefore，every July and August，large amount of water enters the Yellow River through ground and underground rivers；with plenty of water in the fixed river course，floods are easy to form，which is called Fuxun，meaning the floods of summer.During September and October，the Yellow River Basin enters its second rainy season.In this period the weather is cool and the evaporation is rare，the river accumulates plenty of water in the river course，therefore floods may also form，which is called Qinxun，meaning the floods of autumn.Besides，from March to April，which is the spring of the Northern Hemisphere，the weather warms up and the earth comes back to life，the ice and snow covering all over the land in winter begin to melt and the frozen water also thaws，providing plenty of water and making it prone to form Taoxun（”tao”means”peach”literally while”xun”means”flood”）-since at that time the peach blossoms are in full bloom，people call the floods in this period”Taoxun”quite vividly.
Besides，at the beginning of every spring”ice run”will occur in the Yellow River，which is a phenomenon that only occurs in some special rivers on the earth.
The special characteristics of these rivers are that:if the river is in the Northern Hemisphere，then part of or the whole river must flow from the south to the north；if the river is in the Southern Hemisphere，then part of or the whole river must flow from the north to the south.Taking the Yellow River as an example，the Yellow River has two sections that flow from the south to the north；therefore itaccords with this characteristic.The starting point and the end point of the two sections are in the areas with obviously different climates.
Every winter，the river course in the north is frozen first and the water discharge capacity is greatly reduced；part of the water flowing from the upper reaches of the river are stored in the river tunnel and then is frozen in the course.When spring comes，the weather gradually warms up and the south part of theriver course first thaws，and then the part of water that originally stored in the tunnel flows northward，mixed with ice.Since it is still very cold in the north part of the river and the river is still frozen，the water and ice coming from the south are obstructed because the ice layer is much thicker and firmer in the north part of the river.The cold weather refreezes the thawed ice blocks together and forms very thick ice dam that blocks the water from flowing.With the water level keeping rising and reaching a certain point，the water breaks the levee and rushes onto the two sides.Hence ice run occurs.
In the middle reaches，the Yellow River has become the”river above ground”.In order to protect the people alongside the river, the more the riverbed rises, the higher the levees are built. However, the higher the riverbed is, the more destructive the flooding will be. When the Yellow River is of high water, once thelevee is breached, the floods of the whole river rush down from the high riverbed towards the lower places, as if pouring down from the heaven, which will certainl cause enormous damage to the lives and properties of the people alongside the river.
Besides, the YellowRiver may also change its course, so if no man-made measures are taken, the water will be unable to return to the original river course. During the course of more than 2,000 years from 602 BC to 1949, the Yellow River underwent over 1,500 times of breaches. Therefore, people use “two breaches in three years”to describe the high frequency of the breaches of the YellowRiver. Moreover, the soil erosion in the middle reaches of the Yellow River is also very serious, which makesthe farmlands shrink gradually, the fertility of the soil decrease and the draughts occur frequently.
In the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the history has recorded as many as 26 times of important course changes, among which 9 were of large scale and long duration, which affected an area of over 250,000 square kilometers that reached Jingu to the north and Jiang-Huai to the south. The ancient YellowRiver Delta of 1855 years ago had its point near Zhengzhou, while the one today is near Lijin. In addition, the lands that deposited after the floods of the Yellow River withdraw or the course that deserted after course change would become desolated “the Yellow River flooded area”. The course of the Yellow River that enters the sea now was formed when the Yellow River was breached in Tongwaxiang in Henan Province in 1855 and changed its course, which has a history of over 150 years.
The natural disasters like floods, droughts and ice runs, and in addition the dust storm, salt and alkali, and waterlogging, bring the people along the Yellow River grave calamities, and the Yellow River also becomes the symbol of the hardship that Chinese people have undergone. In order to fight against the floods of the Yellow River, every generation of Chinese people has made great efforts and also accumulated rich experience. However, being confined by the low productivity and disadvanced technology, each regulation only solved the superficial problems but provided no radical cure. Therefore the floods of the Yellow River cannot be solved for a long time and the dream for a “clean the Yellow River”and “safe the Yellow River”becomes the one that cannot be realized for thousands of years.
