Challenging the conventional wisdom conveyed by Western environmental historians about China, this book examines the correlations between economic and environmental changes in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi from 1400 to 1850, but also provides substantial background from 2CE on. Robert Marks discusses the impact of population growth on land-use patterns, the agro-ecology 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.

‘This work is a breath of fresh air in terms of the approach that uses the interaction between environment and economy to examine historical change in Lingnan. Well researched, clearly written and strongly argued, it raises new questions and opens the possibility of further research into and comparisons with the history of environment and economy in other parts of imperial China.’

Source: The Journal of Peasant Studies