The Retreat of the Elephants; An Environmental History of China,9780300119930

The Retreat of the Elephants; An Environmental History of China

by
ISBN13: 9780300119930
ISBN10: 0300119933
Format: Trade Paper
Pub. Date: 2006-09-21
Publisher(s): Yale University Press
List Price: $25.00

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Summary

This landmark bookthe first environmental history of Chinais based on a wealth of literary, political aesthetic, scientific, and religious sources that reveal the views of the Chinese people toward their environment and landscape. "Masterly and engaging. . . . Essential for those who want to understand the long sweep of Chinese history, and it will enhance the perspective of those who think they already understand it. A scholarly tour de force."J. R. McNeill,Wilson Quarterly (Note to DMB: check print reviewalso in Science?) "Elvin combines an illuminating account of the 4,000 year-long collision of humans and nature with delightful tidbits about everything under the Chinese sun. . . . A magisterial work."Nicholas D. Kristof,Scientific American

Author Biography

MARK ELVIN is professor of Chinese history at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra. 
 

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
viii
Acknowledgments ix
Permissions xiii
Conventions xv
Introductory Remarks xvii
Patterns
1(164)
Landmarks and Time-marks
3(6)
Humans v. Elephants: The Three Thousand Years War
9(10)
The Great Deforestation: An Overview
19(21)
The Great Deforestation: Regions and Species
40(46)
War and the Logic of Short-term Advantage
86(29)
Water and the Costs of System Sustainability
115(50)
Particularities
165(154)
Richness to Riches: The Story of Jiaxing
167(49)
Chinese Colonialism: Guizhou and the Miao
216(57)
The Riddle of Longevity: Why Zunhua?
273(46)
Perceptions
319(135)
Nature as Revelation
321(48)
Science and Superfauna
369(44)
Imperial Dogma and Personal Perspectives
413(41)
Concluding Remarks 454(18)
Notes 472(58)
Bibliography 530(18)
Index 548

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