but by the end of the sixteenth century, much of the land was deforested, and the Yellow River was an unpredictable force as its silt-laden waters meandered across the wide plains to the sea.

• 不过到了十六世纪末，大部分土地已是林木不生，蜿蜒流经平原的黄河河道因夹带大量泥沙而淤积。