Ever complained about a gloomy, sunless week? Try a whole year of it. Back in 536 AD, the sun dimmed to a mere ghostly glow, and no one alive had any idea why.
公元六世纪中叶，人类经历了一段极为反常的岁月。根据欧洲的史料记载，大约在公元536年，天空仿佛被一层看不见的薄纱所笼罩，太阳终年黯淡无光；即便是正午时分，也只剩下微弱如月的光亮。这种诡异的景象持续了一年有余，气温骤降，庄稼歉收，饥荒与瘟疫接踵而至，无数人在这场看不见源头的灾难中死去。
直到近代，科学家通过分析冰川深处封存的火山灰，才逐渐揭开谜底：这场浩劫的源头，很可能是一次乃至数次剧烈的火山喷发。火山喷出的大量尘埃与硫磺升入高空，遮蔽了阳光，使全球气候在短时间内急剧变冷。这段异常寒冷的时期，如今被学者称为”晚古小冰期”。
值得注意的是，这场横跨欧亚大陆的异象，在中国的古籍中同样留下了蛛丝马迹。当时正值南北朝时期，史书中记载了天降黄尘、夏季陨霜、久旱无雨、饿殍遍野等种种反常之事。彼时的人们虽不明其中缘由，但这些零散的文字，却与遥远的欧洲记录遥相呼应，共同为这场全球性的灾难留下了旁证。
回望这段历史，我们不难体会到其中的震撼：一座火山的怒吼，竟足以让千里之外的文明为之颤抖。人类看似强大，然而在浩瀚的自然面前，终究渺小如尘。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 笼罩 | lǒng zhào | to envelop; to shroud |
| 天灾 | tiān zāi | natural disaster |
| 黯淡无光 | àn dàn wú guāng | dim and lightless |
| 饥荒 | jī huāng | famine |
| 瘟疫 | wēn yì | plague; epidemic |
| 火山喷发 | huǒ shān pēn fā | volcanic eruption |
| 遮蔽 | zhē bì | to block; to obscure |
| 蛛丝马迹 | zhū sī mǎ jì | clues; traces |
| 反常 | fǎn cháng | abnormal; unusual |
| 渺小 | miǎo xiǎo | tiny; insignificant |
| 公元 | gōng yuán | CE (Common Era); Christian Era; AD (Anno Domini) |
| 六 | lìu | six; 6 |
| 世纪 | shì jì | century |
| 中叶 | zhōng yè | mid- (e.g. mid-century); middle period |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 类 | lěi | kind; type; class; category; (bound form) to resemble; to be similar to |
| 经历 | jīng lì | to experience; to go through; experience (CL:段[duan4],次[ci4]) |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 段 | Duàn | surname Duan |
| 极 | jí | extremely; pole (geography, physics); utmost; top |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 岁月 | suì yuè | years; time |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 据 | jǔ | according to; based on; evidence |
| 欧 | Oū | Europe (abbr. for 歐洲|欧洲[Ou1 zhou1]); European Union (abbr. for 歐盟|欧盟[Ou1 meng2]); surname Ou |
| 洲 | zhou | continent |
| 史 | Shǐ | surname Shi |
| 料 | liào | material; stuff; grain; feed; to expect; to anticipate; to guess |
| 记载 | jì zǎi | to write down; to record; written account |
| 大约 | dà yuē | approximately; probably |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 天空 | tiān kōng | sky |
| 仿 | fǎng | to imitate; to copy; variant of 仿[fang3] |
| 佛 | fū | Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2]) |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 一层 | yī céng | one layer; one level |
| 看不见 | kàn bu jiàn | cannot see; cannot be seen; invisible |
| 薄 | bāo | thin; flimsy; weak; cold (of relationships); to look down on (bao2); mint; slight (bo2) |
| 纱 | ||
| 所 | suǒ | actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 太阳 | tài yang | sun; sunlight; sunshine; temple (on the side of the human head) (abbr. for 太陽穴|太阳穴[tai4 yang2 xue2]) |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 即 | jí | namely; that is; i.e.; prompt; at once; at present; even if; prompted (by the occasion); to approach; to come into contact; to assume (office); to draw near |
| 便 | biàn | plain; informal; suitable; convenient; opportune; to urinate or defecate; equivalent to 就[jiu4]: then; in that case; even if; soon afterwards |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 午 | wǔ | 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse; ancient Chinese compass point: 180° (south) |
| 时分 | shí fēn | time; period during the day; one of the 12 two-hour periods enumerated by the earthly branches 地支 |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 剩 | shèng | to remain; to be left; to have as remainder; variant of 剩[sheng4] |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 微 | Wēi | surname Wei; ancient Chinese state near present-day Chongqing; Taiwan pr. [Wei2] |
| 弱 | ruǒ | weak; feeble; inferior; not as good as |
| 如 | rú | as; as if; such as |
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 光亮 | guāng liàng | bright |
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 诡 | ||
| 异 | yì | different; other; hetero-; unusual; strange; surprising; to distinguish; to separate; to discriminate |
| 景 | Jǐng | surname Jing |
| 象 | xiàng | elephant; CL:隻|只[zhi1]; shape; form; appearance; to imitate |
| 持 | chí | to hold; to grasp; to support; to maintain; to persevere; to manage; to run (i.e. administer); to control |
| 续 | xù | to continue; to replenish |
| 有余 | yǒu yú | to have an abundance |
| 气 | qì | gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi |
| 温 | wen | warm; temperate; temperature; to warm up; to review; surname Wen |
| 骤 | zhǒu | sudden; abrupt; Taiwan pr. [zou4] |
| 降 | jiàng | to drop; to fall; to come down; to descend |
| 庄 | zhuāng | variant of 莊|庄[zhuang1]; surname Zhuang |
| 稼 | jiǎ | to sow grain |
| 歉 | qiǎn | to apologize; deficient |
| 收 | shōu | to receive; to accept; to collect; to put away; to restrain; to stop; in care of (used on address line after name) |
| 与 | yú | variant of 歟|欤[yu2] |
| 接 | jiē | to receive; to answer (the phone); to meet or welcome sb; to connect; to catch; to join; to extend; to take one's turn on duty; to take over for sb |
| 踵 | ||
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 至 | zhì | to arrive; most; to; until |
| 无数 | wú shù | countless; numberless; innumerable |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 场 | cháng | threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場|场[chang2] |
| 源 | yuān | root; origin |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 灾难 | zāi nàn | disaster; catastrophe |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 死去 | sǐ qù | to die |
| 直到 | zhí dào | until |
| 近代 | jìn dài | the not-very-distant past; modern times, excluding recent decades; (in the context of Chinese history) the period from the Opium Wars until the May 4th Movement (mid-19th century t… |
| 科学家 | kē xué jiā | scientist |
| 通过 | tōng guò | to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation); to pass (a test); by means of; through; via |
| 分析 | fēn xī | to analyze; analysis; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 冰川 | bīng chuān | glacier |
| 深 | shēn | old variant of 深[shen1]; (lit. and fig.) deep |
| 处 | chǔ | to reside; to live; to dwell; to be in; to be situated at; to stay; to get along with; to be in a position of; to deal with; to discipline; to punish |
| 封存 | fēng cún | to sequester; to seal up (for safe keeping); to freeze (an account); to mothball |
| 火山灰 | huǒ shān huī | volcanic ash |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 逐 | zhú | (bound form) to pursue; to chase; to drive away; one by one; individually |
| 渐 | jiǎn | to imbue |
| 揭 | jie | to uncover; to lift up; to expose; to announce |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 谜 | mī | riddle; mystery |
| 底 | dí | (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) |
| 浩 | ||
| 劫 | jiē | to rob; to plunder; calamity; disaster; to coerce |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 乃至 | nǎi zhì | and even; to go so far as to |
| 数 | shǔ | to count; to count as; to regard as; to enumerate; to list |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 剧 | jǔ | theatrical work (play, opera, TV series etc); acute |
| 烈 | liě | ardent; fierce; upright; exploits |
| 火山 | huǒ shān | volcano |
| 喷 | pen | to spout; to spurt; to spray; to puff |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 大量 | dà liàng | great amount; large quantity; bulk; numerous; generous; magnanimous |
| 尘 | chén | dust; dirt; earth |
| 埃 | ai | dust; a phonetic character used in foreign names |
| 硫 | liū | sulfur (chemistry) |
| 磺 | ||
| 升入 | shēng rù | to progress to (a higher-level school) |
| 高空 | gāo kōng | high altitude |
| 阳光 | yáng guāng | sunshine; (of personality) upbeat; energetic; transparent (open to public scrutiny) |
| 使 | shǐ | to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger |
| 全球 | quán qíu | the whole world; worldwide; global |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 短时间 | duǎn shí jiān | short term; short time |
| 内急 | nèi jí | to need to answer the call of nature |
| 变 | biàn | to change; to become different; to transform; to vary; rebellion |
| 冷 | Lěng | surname Leng |
| 异常 | yì cháng | unusual; abnormal; extremely; exceptionally |
| 寒冷 | hán lěng | cold (climate); frigid; very cold |
| 时期 | shí qī | period; phase; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 如今 | rú jīn | nowadays; now |
| 学者 | xué zhě | scholar |
| 称为 | chēng wéi | to be called; to be known as; to call it "..." |
| 晚 | wǎn | evening; night; late |
| 古 | Gǔ | surname Gu |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 冰期 | bīng qī | glacial epoch; ice age |
| 值 | zhī | value; to happen to |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 注 | zhù | (bound form) to pour into; to flow into; to inject; (bound form) to focus (one's spirit, gaze etc) on a single point; to concentrate; (bound form) stake (in gambling); classifier f…; to annotate; to provide explanatory notes on a written text; an annotation; an explanatory note; (bound form) to put on record; to register |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 横跨 | héng kuà | to span; to stretch across; to travel across |
| 亚 | Yà | Asia; Asian; Taiwan pr. [Ya3] |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 陆 | lǔ | land; continent; shore; to land; six (banker form); surname Lu |
| 异象 | yì xiàng | (religion) a vision; strange phenomenon |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 籍 | jī | book; record; registry; native place; affiliation; surname Ji |
| 同 | tóng | like; same; similar; together; alike; with; used in 衚衕|胡同[hu2 tong4] |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 留下 | líu xià | to leave behind; to stay behind; to remain; to keep; not to let (sb) go |
| 当时 | dāng shí | then; at that time |
| 南北朝 | Nán Běi cháo | Northern and Southern dynasties (420-589) |
| 书 | Shū | abbr. for 書經|书经[Shu1 jing1] |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 黄 | Huáng | surname Huang or Hwang |
| 夏季 | xià jì | summer |
| 陨 | ||
| 霜 | shuāng | frost; white powder or cream spread over a surface; frosting; (skin) cream |
| 久 | jǐu | (of a period of time) long |
| 旱 | hǎn | drought |
| 无 | mó | used in 南無|南无[na1 mo2] |
| 雨 | yǔ | rain; CL:陣|阵[zhen4],場|场[chang2] |
| 饿 | è | hungry; to starve (sb) |
| 殍 | ||
| 遍 | biàn | variant of 遍[bian4]; everywhere; all over; classifier for actions: one time |
| 野 | yě | old variant of 野[ye3]; field; plain; open space; limit; boundary; rude; feral |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 种种 | zhǒng zhǒng | all kinds of |
| 之 | zhī | (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her; it |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 彼时 | bǐ shí | at that time |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 虽 | suī | although; even though |
| 不明 | bù míng | not clear; unknown; to fail to understand |
| 其中 | qí zhōng | among; in; included among these |
| 缘 | yuān | cause; karma; predestined affinity; hem; along |
| 由 | yóu | to follow; from; because of; due to; by; via; through; (before a noun and a verb) it is for ... to ... |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 零散 | líng sǎn | scattered |
| 文字 | wén zì | character; script; writing; written language; writing style; phraseology; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 遥 | yāo | (bound form) distant; remote; far away |
| 远 | yuǎn | far; distant; remote; (intensifier in a comparison) by far; much (lower etc) |
| 记录 | jì lù | to record; record (written account); note-taker; record (in sports etc); CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 相 | Xiāng | surname Xiang |
| 呼 | hu | to call; to shout; to exhale |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 共同 | gòng tóng | common; joint; jointly; together; collaborative |
| 性 | xǐng | nature; property; attribute; sex; suffix forming adjective from verb; essence |
| 旁 | páng | one side; other; different; lateral component of a Chinese character (such as 刂[dao1], 亻[ren2] etc) |
| 证 | zhěng | to admonish |
| 回望 | huí wàng | to return sb's gaze; to meet sb's eyes; to look back (to one's rear); (fig.) to look back at (the past); to reflect on |
| 历 | lì | old variant of 曆|历[li4]; old variant of 歷|历[li4]; calendar; to experience; to undergo; to pass through; all; each; every; history |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 难 | nán | difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good |
| 体会 | tǐ huì | to know from experience; to learn through experience; to realize; understanding; experience |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 震 | zhèn | to shake; to vibrate; to jolt; to quake; excited; shocked; one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing thunder; ☳ |
| 撼 | hǎn | to shake |
| 座 | zuò | seat; base; stand; (bound form) constellation; (archaic) suffix used in a respectful form of address (e.g. 師座|师座[shi1 zuo4]); classifier for large immovable objects such as buildin… |
| 怒 | Nù | Nu ethnic group |
| 吼 | hóu | to roar; to shriek; bellow of rage |
| 竟 | jǐng | unexpectedly; to go so far as to |
| 足以 | zú yǐ | sufficient to...; so much so that; so that |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 千里 | qiān lǐ | a thousand miles; a thousand li (i.e. 500 kilometers); a long distance |
| 之外 | zhī wài | outside; excluding |
| 文明 | wén míng | civilized; civilization; culture; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 颤 | chǎn | to tremble; to shake; Taiwan pr. [zhan4] |
| 抖 | dóu | to tremble; to reveal |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 似 | shǐ | used in 似的[shi4 de5] |
| 强 | qiāng | strong; powerful; vigorous; better; to force (qiang3); stubborn (jiang4); surname Qiang |
| 然而 | rán ér | however; but; yet |
| 瀚 | ||
| 自然 | zì rán | nature; natural; naturally |
| 面前 | miàn qián | in front of; facing; (in the) presence (of) |
| 究 | jīu | after all; to investigate; to study carefully; Taiwan pr. [jiu4] |
In the middle of the sixth century AD, humanity endured an extraordinarily abnormal stretch of time. According to European historical records, around 536 AD, the sky seemed to be shrouded by an invisible layer of gauze, and the sun stayed dim all year long; even at midday, only a faint glow, like moonlight, remained. This eerie scene lasted for over a year. Temperatures plummeted, crops failed, and famine and plague followed one after another, as countless people died in this disaster whose source could not be seen.
It was not until modern times that scientists, by analyzing volcanic ash sealed deep within glaciers, gradually unraveled the mystery: the source of this catastrophe was very likely one or even several violent volcanic eruptions. The vast amounts of dust and sulfur spewed out by the volcanoes rose into the upper atmosphere, blocking the sunlight and causing the global climate to cool sharply in a short period. This unusually cold period is now called by scholars the ‘Late Antique Little Ice Age.’
It is worth noting that this strange phenomenon spanning the Eurasian continent also left traces in ancient Chinese texts. At that time it was the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, and the histories recorded all sorts of abnormal events: yellow dust falling from the sky, frost in summer, prolonged drought without rain, and the starved dead lying everywhere. Although the people of that era did not understand the reasons behind these things, these scattered writings echo the distant European records, together leaving corroborating evidence for this global disaster.
Looking back on this history, it is not hard to feel the shock within it: the roar of a single volcano was enough to make a civilization a thousand miles away tremble. Humanity may seem powerful, yet in the face of vast nature, we are ultimately as tiny as dust.