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History China

Coping with Calamity

Environmental Change and Peasant Response in Central China, 1736-1949

by (author) Jiayan Zhang

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
May 2014
Category
China, Natural Disasters, Disasters & Disaster Relief, Rivers, Historical Geography
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774825955
    Publish Date
    May 2014
    List Price
    $95.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774825986
    Publish Date
    May 2014
    List Price
    $32.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774825962
    Publish Date
    Jan 2015
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

The Jianghan Plain in central China has been shaped by its relationship with water. Once a prolific rice-growing region that drew immigrants to its fertile paddy fields, it has, since the eighteenth century, become prone to devastating flooding and waterlogging. Over time, population pressures and dike building left more and more people in the region vulnerable to frequent water calamities. The first environmental and socioeconomic history of the region, Coping with Calamity considers the Jianghan Plain’s volatile environment, the constant challenges it presented to peasants, and their often ingenious and sophisticated responses during the Qing and Republican periods.

About the author

Awards

  • Winner, Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kennesaw State University
  • Winner, Academic Excellence Award, Chinese Historians in the United States (CHUS)

Contributor Notes

Jiayan Zhang is an associate professor of history at Kennesaw State University.

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