China's Worst Earthquake in History: The 1556 Shaanxi Earthquake

In the strange connection to January when some of the most notorious earthquakes in the world happened, the worst in recorded history happened on January 23, 1556 in Shaanxi, China. After the recent quake at the time of this writing in Sichuan, China having an unimaginable death toll for the modern populace, we tend to forget that earthquakes from prior centuries were even deadlier. But considering that Shaanxi quake in 1556 killed approximately 830,000 (even though there was no reliable method of count then), the souls of those lost there teach us a lot about earthquakes back then and how those in China today are actually surviving them much better thanks to knowing what to do when they strike and modern technology creating more stabilization in the structure of buildings.

Even so, the death counts are still mind-boggling for Americans and Europeans who would barely be able to recover if we lost 50,000+ people as it's being reported in China as I write this. China is used to having multi-thousands of people living in close quarters with one another for centuries. It's obviously why they continue to have such high death counts in earthquakes. Nonetheless, even back in 1556, it was no different. The biggest difference is that many of the people who died in Shaanxi were living in what were called Yaodongs, which were basically dug-out abodes in the vertical side of a hill. These were used for centuries long before the 1500's, and they knew nothing different and probably didn't always understand that avalanches could happen.

Well, because there were multi-thousands of people living in those yaodongs, it pretty much explained why the death toll was so high. However, the Shaanxi quake was felt over a vast area as you might expect. Historical records that still exist say that it was felt over a 520-mile radius and almost ¾ of the population within the encircled area where the epicenter was were wiped out. Using the European earthquake intensity scale called the Mercalli Scale, it was said to be about an XI--which would be probably over an 8 on the Richter scale.

What's eerie about this quake is in the detailed descriptions that still exist of what the quake did to the area's terrain. A scholar in China named Qin Keda (who was probably the Pliny the Elder of his time and location) wrote a lot of details about the quake and explained the stunning way how rivers literally changed direction, areas of land opened up and formed new bodies of water, new hills were formed that didn't exist before and basically re-arranged the land as a piece of putty. It was a rare example when a population still had reams of nature around them and saw firsthand what a major earthquake can do to completely alter how they knew it before.

It's not that there weren't plenty of man-made structures destroyed to the ground. Plenty of temples and huts were toppled everywhere, even though many were killed by running outside of those structures. And that's one major lesson Qin Keda wrote about that would lead to a more profound understanding of how to survive an earthquake of that magnitude...

What the Chinese ancients taught the world to do when a quake strikes...

Sometimes an entire population has to be sacrificed in a major cataclysm to save future populations. In the Shaanxi quake, that scholar Qin Keda possibly saved future lives in China and around the world--even in the recent Sichuan quake. In his written reflections on the Shaanxi quake aftermath, he noted that many of the people residing in man-made structures ran outside and subsequently died from falling debris or being swallowed up in the earth. Qin Keda's suggestion: One should stay indoors when a quake strikes, and just crouching in a safe place in your dwelling will keep you protected. He suggested applying that waiting period in the immediate aftermath, too.

From what can be determined from Chinese records, Qin Keda survived because he managed to stay put in his dwelling for quite a while until the aftershocks died down somewhat, despite those going on for nearly six months. This was basically the first lesson to stay in your house if at all possible during an earthquake and perhaps the earliest hints of crawling into a spot where nothing will fall on you. Today, that's our door frames by our rooms. Although getting under a table doesn't hurt either so falling debris from the ceiling won't hit you on the head.

Of course, all those people residing in the yaodongs had no chance at all. Avalanches buried those people alive where their remains may possibly be preserved similar to Pompeii.

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It's haunting to realize how much the Chinese ancients may have taught us about natural disasters. Certainly China has suffered untold agony with natural disasters for centuries due to being unfortunately located in one of the most seismically-active areas on the planet. Undoubtedly, though, many of today's Chinese citizens have listened to that forgotten ancient scholar Qin Keda and place themselves in a safe place in their own homes when major quakes still strike there. And, thanks to China's more advanced architectural designs, their structures can withstand some serious rattling.

America could use some lessons in what China's gone through. We're overdue for similar quakes and don't have building codes up to par to withstand a major trembler. We also have people who will undoubtedly panic too much as those did in 1556 Shaanxi and go running into the streets in a daze after a huge quake--only to end up getting seriously hurt or killed in the process because they didn't just stay in a safer place for a while until it seems safe to go out and help rescue people.

May history continue to educate people on how to survive things our ancients suffered with that are sometimes beyond our comprehension...