Tigers, Rice, Silk, and Silt: Environment and Economy in Late Imperial South China (Studies in Environment and History)

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 6
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
CONTENTS......Page 9
Figures......Page 11
Tables......Page 12
Weights and measures......Page 15
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 17
INTRODUCTION......Page 27
Problems and Perspectives......Page 35
1 “FIRS AND PINES A HUNDRED SPANS ROUND”: THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF LINGNAN......Page 42
Physical Landscape......Page 43
Mountains and highlands......Page 48
Climate......Page 54
Rivers and Soils......Page 56
Forests and Wildlife......Page 61
Ecological Change......Page 72
Climatic Change......Page 74
Conclusion......Page 78
2 “ALL DEEPLY FORESTED AND WILD PLACES ARE NOT MALARIOUS”: HUMAN SETTLEMENT AND ECOLOGICAL CHANGE IN LINGNAN, 2–1400 CE......Page 79
The Original Inhabitants......Page 80
Chinese Migration into and Settlement of Lingnan......Page 82
The Making of the Pearl River Delta......Page 92
Present at the Creation: The Delta Lineages from Zhujigang......Page 105
Conclusion......Page 108
Population and Land, 1400 1600......Page 110
Population and Its Growth, 1400 1640......Page 113
Land Use and Cropping Patterns......Page 126
Agriculture......Page 129
Commercial Crops, 1400 1550......Page 141
Commercialization of Agriculture, 1550 1640......Page 146
Periodic Markets and Marketing Systems......Page 147
Climatic Conditions in Ming Times......Page 151
European Trade and Silver Imports......Page 153
Rice-Surplus to Rice-Deficit Region......Page 156
Conclusion......Page 158
4 “ALL THE PEOPLE HAVE FLED”: WAR AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE MID-SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CRISIS, 1644–83......Page 160
Climatic Change in the Seventeenth Century......Page 163
Silver Imports and the Vicissitudes of the International Economy......Page 167
Banditry and Piracy......Page 169
The Turning Point in 1644......Page 170
The Demographic Crisis of 1648–53......Page 173
Relocation of the Coastal Population, 1661–69......Page 177
The “Shu Huang” of the 1670s......Page 179
The End of the Crisis Years......Page 182
Population and Cultivated Land......Page 183
The General Crisis and the Environment......Page 187
Conclusion......Page 188
Chinese Overseas Trade......Page 189
European Trade......Page 202
Markets and the Marketing System......Page 210
Conclusion......Page 219
6 “IT NEVER USED TO SNOW”: CLIMATIC CHANGE AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY......Page 221
Climate and Agriculture......Page 228
Harvest Yields......Page 232
Pestilence......Page 245
The Incidence of Adverse Climatic Conditions......Page 246
Conclusion......Page 250
The Granary System......Page 252
Private Storage of Grain......Page 265
State or Market?......Page 272
Conclusion......Page 273
Market Integration and Ecological Diversity......Page 275
Rice Prices, Harvest Yields, and Climate: The Economic and Demographic Implications......Page 292
Conclusion......Page 301
9 “POPULATION INCREASES DAILY, BUT THE LAND DOES NOT”: LAND CLEARANCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY......Page 303
Population Growth......Page 305
Cultivated Land Area......Page 307
The Intensification of Agriculture......Page 308
Early Qing Land Reclamation Policies and Results......Page 314
Population Pressure and Land Reclamation......Page 316
The Yongzheng Emperor and Land Reclamation......Page 318
Into the Hills and Down to the Valleys......Page 331
Conclusion......Page 333
New World Crops......Page 335
Ecological Consequences of Land Clearance......Page 337
Water Control and Irrigation......Page 338
Deforestation......Page 345
Environmental Change......Page 353
In Lieu of a Conclusion to This Chapter: Extinction......Page 356
CONCLUSION......Page 359
Published Collections of Primary Sources......Page 372
Gazetteers......Page 374
Maps......Page 375
Secondary Sources......Page 376
INDEX......Page 397