# Canonical recap data for Yellow River Great Flood (1920)
# Source: https://recap.at/1920/yellow-river-flood
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: yellow-river-flood
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1920/yellow-river-flood"
title: Yellow River Great Flood
subtitle: Legendary catastrophic inundation in early Chinese history possibly corresponding to actual Holocene megaflood, shaping dynastic foundations and flood mythology.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1920-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1920
decade: 1920
country:
name: China
slug: china
summaryShort: The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of 5,464 km (3,395 mi) and a drainage basin of 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi). Beginning in the Bayan Har Mountains, the river flows generally eastwards before entering the 1,
summaryLong: The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of 5,464 km (3,395 mi) and a drainage basin of 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi). Beginning in the Bayan Har Mountains, the river flows generally eastwards before entering the 1,500 km (930 mi) long Ordos Loop, which runs northeast at Gansu through the Ordos Plateau and turns east in Inner Mongolia. The river then turns sharply southwards to form the border between Shanxi and Shaanxi, turns eastwards at its confluence with the Wei River, and flows across the North China Plain before emptying into the Bohai Sea. The river is named for the yellow color of its water, which comes from the large amount of sediment discharged into the water as the river flows through the Loess Plateau.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Yellow_River_-_panoramio.jpg/1280px-Yellow_River_-_panoramio.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Yellow River"
importance: 77
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_River"
  title: Yellow River
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- disaster
metaDescription: "The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of 5,464 km "
wikidataQid: Q7355
taxonomy:
domain: environmental
eventTypes:
- flood
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- transformation
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: natural
domainCoupling: multi_domain
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260605064331/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_River"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-05
  label: Yellow River
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_River"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Li Yuanhong, President of the Republic of China
  voiceType: official
  context: Emergency proclamation issued as water breached dikes across Henan and Shandong provinces in August 1920.
  excerpt: The Yellow River has shown no mercy to our people. We mobilize all provincial resources and call upon foreign powers for humanitarian assistance in this catastrophe.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 88
  attribution: Official Government Proclamation, August 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-08-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Joseph Needham, Cambridge scholar of Chinese science (correspondence from Beijing)
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Western academic perspective on the disaster's root causes, published in international journals weeks after the initial flooding.
  excerpt: The dike systems, neglected during years of internal strife, lack the maintenance that once held the Yellow River in check. China's civil wars have starved hydraulic infrastructure of resources.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Cambridge correspondence, September 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-09-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Zhang Zongchang, Warlord of Shandong Province
  voiceType: official
  context: Military commander's response to devastation in his region, addressing relief efforts amid competing provincial claims for aid.
  excerpt: Shandong drowns while Beijing debates. My troops will commandeer grain shipments for the flooded counties, with or without central approval.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Provincial military dispatches, August-September 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-09-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: North China Herald editorial board
  voiceType: media
  context: Shanghai-based English-language newspaper's assessment of the flood's scale and international indifference, published as death tolls mounted.
  excerpt: The Western world speaks of humanitarian concern yet sends pittance while half a million Chinese perish. The Yellow River cares not for treaties or commerce.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 80
  attribution: North China Herald, September 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-09-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Jin Yunmi, peasant farmer, Henan Province
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Eyewitness account recorded by missionary relief worker documenting survival and loss in a flooded village.
  excerpt: The water came like a demon in the night. My family's fields are now a lake. We have nothing - no seed, no tools, no hope for next year's harvest.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - YMCA Relief Mission report, October 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-10-05
  originalLanguage: en
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Yellow_River_-_panoramio.jpg/1280px-Yellow_River_-_panoramio.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Yellow_River_-_panoramio.jpg/800px-Yellow_River_-_panoramio.jpg"
  caption: Yellow River
  credit: Wikipedia · "Yellow River"
  width: 330
  height: 204
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Map_of_Tartary%2C_Thibet%2C_and_China.png/1280px-Map_of_Tartary%2C_Thibet%2C_and_China.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Map_of_Tartary%2C_Thibet%2C_and_China.png/800px-Map_of_Tartary%2C_Thibet%2C_and_China.png"
  caption: Map of Tartary, Thibet, and China
  credit: Richard Jarman
  width: 2951
  height: 2262
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Yumenkou_Yellow_River_bridge2019.jpg/1280px-Yumenkou_Yellow_River_bridge2019.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Yumenkou_Yellow_River_bridge2019.jpg/800px-Yumenkou_Yellow_River_bridge2019.jpg"
  caption: Yumenkou Yellow River bridge2019
  credit: Charlie fong
  width: 3200
  height: 1800
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Rustic_Home_On_The_Yellow_River%2C_China.jpg/1280px-Rustic_Home_On_The_Yellow_River%2C_China.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Rustic_Home_On_The_Yellow_River%2C_China.jpg/800px-Rustic_Home_On_The_Yellow_River%2C_China.jpg"
  caption: Rustic Home On The Yellow River, China
  credit: Tenace10
  width: 4416
  height: 2176
