On December 25, 1932, a catastrophic earthquake, estimated at magnitude 7.6, struck Gansu province in northwest China. The quake caused massive destruction, killing an estimated 70,000 people and displacing countless others. This event was another major disaster in a region prone to severe seismic activity and compounded the difficulties facing China during a period of civil war and economic hardship. The earthquake led to widespread suffering and highlighted the need for better disaster preparedness.

The 1932 Gansu earthquake was the subject of many contemporary Chinese poems and essays, which often expressed grief and called for national unity in the face of tragedy. The event is a part of the Chinese literary tradition of disaster poetry, which seeks to give voice to the voiceless and to document the human cost of natural calamities. The earthquake is remembered in Chinese literature as a moment of collective suffering and resilience.