Changes

However, over the last two thousand years, as climate has become drier and colder in parts of eastern China, there has been greater evidence that this has led to more periodic locust, famine, and drought occurrences. There has also been higher incidents of epidemics when flood conditions become evident, presumably as bacteria thrive better in warmer and moister conditions. <ref>For more on the relationship between climate and epidemics and different events, see: Tian, H., Yan, C., Xu, L., Büntgen, U., Stenseth, N. C., & Zhang, Z. (2017). Scale-dependent climatic drivers of human epidemics in ancient China. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>, 114(49), 12970–12975. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706470114</ref>

The Ming dynasty, lasting until 1644, began to experience greater difficulties in the 16th and early 17th centuries as records show. Peasant rebellions, perhaps triggered by poor harvests, led to the government being defeated and ultimately collapsing. In earlier periods that were more favourable climatically, a military farming system ensured the government's troops were well supplied and provisioned. However, that system began to fail already in the 16th century. During that time, greater military expenditure was required, showing that more money from the central government was needed to ensure the military's readiness. By the early 17th century, the government was in crises as peasants were unable to pay their taxes, which were heavy to support the increased military expenditures, and their harvests began to increasingly fail. In effect, a system of military provision had collapsed, forcing the burden on peasants, who themselves were overtaxed and ultimately they revolted against the government that had created the system.<ref>For more on the Ming dynasty, see: Zheng, J., Xiao, L., Fang, X., Hao, Z., Ge, Q., & Li, B. (2014). How climate change impacted the collapse of the Ming dynasty. <i>Climatic Change</i>, 127(2), 169–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1244-7</ref>