Tigers, Rice, Silk, and Silt: Environment and Economy in Late Imperial South China

Studies in Environment and History

by Robert B. Marks

Challenging the conventional wisdom of Western environmental historians, this book examines the correlations between economic and environmental changes in the southern imperial Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (a region historically known as Lingnan, "South of the Mountains") from 1400 to 1850. Marks discusses the impact of population growth on land use patterns, the agro-ecology, and deforestation; the commercialization of agriculture and its implications; the impact of climatic change on agriculture; and the ways in which the human population responded to environmental challenges.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction, Asia

408 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 1994

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in any of the following - world history, economic history, ecology, China - this is an excellent book. This is a fairly intense book, lots of graphs and statistics, but that's what you need when covering topics like ecology and economy. Luckily almost everything is in a chart form, so you don't need to look at the underlying statistics, although those are there in the footnotes.

There are a few advantages to studying history in China. First of all there is a huge amount of written documentation, which Marks clearly thoroughly examined. Another advantage to us here in the West is that China serves as an outside comparison to history and theories of Europe (and North America). A major difference is that the Chinese empire allowed commercial development, but prevented monopolies ('capitalism') and this may be a reason the Industrial revolution did not arise in China.

The ecology is that of the human environment, not the 'wilderness'.
This book is part of the same series as Alfred Crosby's Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900.

The reason for four stars instead of five is simply the relatively restricted audience. In my rating scheme a 5 star book can (and should) be read by anyone.

[Benemint · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not going to write an environmental history of any kind, so details of his discussion did not really interest me. However, I liked the scope of his research and his intro/conclusions were thought-provoking. Was too expensive. Books are not the most useful media for the information that the author wants to convey...

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite piece of environmental history of China. A look at the interaction between expanded rice cultivation, malaria, river hydrology, early industry and even tiger attacks in the Qing Pearl River Delta.