几乎所有主要社会都受到饥荒影响；有人估算，从公元前108年到公园1911年间，每一年中国都至少有一个省出现旱灾或洪灾导致饥荒的情况。
Nearly every major society has been shaped by famine; one estimate suggests that China suffered drought or flood-induced starvation in at least one province almost every year from 108 BC to 1911.