From Turbulence to Governance: the Ravages by the Wars in Lu’an Society during the Reigns between Xianfeng and Tongzhi

Due to the important geographical location, Lu’an Prefecture in Western Anhui Province was occupied by the Qing, Taiping and Nian armies in battles for more than ten years between the reigns of Xianfeng (1851-1861) and Tongzhi (1862-1875) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There were more battles in Yingshan County and Huoshan County which are both under Lu’an’s jurisdiction. The ravages by the wars not only had a serious impact on the local government facilities such as government offices and warehouses, but also burned down a large number of urban and rural residential facilities. Cultural and educational buildings in Lu’an Prefecture, such as schools and ancestral temples, were ruined as well. During the wars, the people died or fled, and the large population is lost. As a result, a large amount of land was abandoned, and much arable farmland was reduced. Consequently, the stable collection of land tax was not ensured, which led to the higher living pressure of the people and did serious harm to the local economy based on agriculture. In the face of the serious and frequent ravages by the wars, the Qing government and local officials actively selected military talents, recruited a large number of military personnel. Hence, some military victories were achieved, which played a certain role in mitigating the ravages. The local people initiatively founded civil corps, built city walls and forts, which thus effectively prevented the ravages by the wars, and played an important role in stabilizing of the social order in Lu’an.