Challenging the conventional wisdom conveyed by Western environmental historians
about China, this book examines the relationships between economic
and environmental changes in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong
and Guangxi (a region historically known as Lingnan, “South of the Mountains”)
in imperial China, focusing on the period from 1400 to 1850, but also
providing substantial background from 2 CE on. Robert Marks discusses the
impact of population growth on land-use patterns, the agroecology of the
region, and deforestation; the commercialization of agriculture and its implications
for ecological change; the impact of climatic change on agriculture;
and the ways in which the human population responded to environmental
challenges. This book is a significant contribution to both Chinese and environmental
history. It is groundbreaking in its methods and in its findings.