Research on the Natural Disaster Response by Gentry Class in the Ming and Qing Dynasties Taking as the Example the Villages along the Yangtze River in Anhui

The direct control on the villages by gentry in the Ming and Qing Dynasties is the main means to participate in the administration in which the control is generally focused on the economy and culture. The gentry, when the disaster happens, usually take an active part in the natural disaster relief that makes up for the governmental deficiency. And the Yangtze River in Anhui in the two Dynasties has often been to the theatre of the flood and drought disasters and their active participation in the relief is mainly involved in the relief to the victims of the disasters, the way to the public granaries and smooth buy in, the accommodation to the displaced persons, the participation in the establishment of charitable institutions, the building of irrigation works, and the pleading to governments on behalf of refugees.