Introductory Remarks XXV environment,interesting though these can be,we need to have a much surer hold on what 'China'itself was. For these reasons,external comparisons are not a major concern of this book. A few words on my own attitude to the subject may help readers allow for bias on my part: I am a historian by training,but with enough knowledge of some areas of science to have collaborated with professional scientists.I believe that sufficient objectivity in historical work is possible to make it reasonable to try to distin- guish between more plausible and less plausible reconstructions of the past.I am aware that people in different times and cultures have lived,and live,in different conceptual worlds.I have even written a book on this subject.?The barriers between these worlds are not absolute,however,but semipermeable With effort and care one can learn to move between them.This is not funda- mentally different from the bootstrapping'process by which a child learns his or her own culture as he or she grows up.Only the multiple perspectives in the mind of the outsider create an element of unavoidable dissimilarity. More importantly,it can be demonstrated that there is no necessity for evidence from another time or culture to be flawed by this otherness to the point of being unusable by us.Medieval Chinese maps of coastlines long ago vanished can be shown on occasion to match well with modern remote- sensing images where differences in reflectance can pick out a similar pattern. Ages at death of virtuous'women recorded in premodern Chinese local histo- ries,in random sequence over the centuries,fall,when reassembled,into the smooth curves of age-specific mortality familiar to modern demography but unknown to those doing the recording."Historical sources may be discon- certingly partial in coverage.They may offer a view that seems to us distorted. But they are not just apologias for the power of those who compiled them.Nor are they just mirrors that reflect only our own faces,and nothing but our own prejudices,back at ourselves. Immersing oneself in another mental world can also provide a vantage point from which to look at one's own mental world from the outside.The influences are not all one-way. Following a personal preference,I have quoted more from original sources than is usual in an introductory survey.There are two purposes in this,apart from the fact that premodern Chinese is on the whole hard to translate,and a reliable translation in itself a service.The first is to illustrate the kind of evidence on which the story told here,and my analyses,are based.It is thin by the standards of the present day,even if abundant compared to that for our
environment, interesting though these can be, we need to have a much surer hold on what ‘China’ itself was. For these reasons, external comparisons are not a major concern of this book. A few words on my own attitude to the subject may help readers allow for bias on my part: I am a historian by training, but with enough knowledge of some areas of science to have collaborated with professional scientists. I believe that sufficient objectivity in historical work is possible to make it reasonable to try to distinguish between more plausible and less plausible reconstructions of the past. I am aware that people in different times and cultures have lived, and live, in different conceptual worlds. I have even written a book on this subject.20 The barriers between these worlds are not absolute, however, but semipermeable. With effort and care one can learn to move between them. This is not fundamentally different from the ‘bootstrapping’ process by which a child learns his or her own culture as he or she grows up. Only the multiple perspectives in the mind of the outsider create an element of unavoidable dissimilarity. More importantly, it can be demonstrated that there is no necessity for evidence from another time or culture to be flawed by this otherness to the point of being unusable by us. Medieval Chinese maps of coastlines long ago vanished can be shown on occasion to match well with modern remotesensing images where differences in reflectance can pick out a similar pattern.21 Ages at death of ‘virtuous’ women recorded in premodern Chinese local histories, in random sequence over the centuries, fall, when reassembled, into the smooth curves of age-specific mortality familiar to modern demography but unknown to those doing the recording.22 Historical sources may be disconcertingly partial in coverage. They may offer a view that seems to us distorted. But they are not just apologias for the power of those who compiled them. Nor are they just mirrors that reflect only our own faces, and nothing but our own prejudices, back at ourselves. Immersing oneself in another mental world can also provide a vantage point from which to look at one’s own mental world from the outside. The influences are not all one-way. Following a personal preference, I have quoted more from original sources than is usual in an introductory survey. There are two purposes in this, apart from the fact that premodern Chinese is on the whole hard to translate, and a reliable translation in itself a service. The first is to illustrate the kind of evidence on which the story told here, and my analyses, are based. It is thin by the standards of the present day, even if abundant compared to that for our Introductory Remarks xxv
xxvi n Introductory Remarks own Western medieval and ancient history.Quotation of sources also allows the reader some opportunity to conceptualize the evidence differently.The second purpose is to make it possible for him or her to enter,even if only for a moment or two,into the mental world of those who made the history exam- ined in these pages.To acquire,as it were,a second,and imaginary,self. My own environmental values are probably close to those expressed by Aldo Leopold in his Sand County Almanac half a century ago: Wild things,I admit,had little human value until mechanization assured us of a good breakfast,and until science disclosed the drama of where they came from and how they live.The whole conflict thus boils down to a ques- tion of degree.We of the minority see a law of diminishing returns in progress;our opponents do not. I would be happy to be able to maintain this type of balance and to combine practicality and poetry in the way that he did.Readers who find themselves at odds with these views,from whichever side,catastrophist or cornucopian, should make allowances as appropriate. This can be put another way.While patterned catastrophe rules sand piles and stock markets,"4 I am inclined to believe that,at a historical level,life is mostly logistic.That is,from time to time a near-equilibrium state springs into an accelerating growth,but after a time this acceleration slows down and vanishes,the system returning to a new near-equilibrium.3 This puts me philosophically closer to biologists and demographers than to orthodox econ- omists,but it is always possible to argue about which part of the curve one is on.The initial section of a logistic looks exponential. Literate Chinese wrote poems constantly,and on a wider variety of themes than educated Westerners,often very mundane themes.Poems are as a consequence used more frequently in the chapters that follow than is common in Western historical writing.They often contain information not available elsewhere.This is why they are included,not for their impact on the heart.It is nonetheless necessary to remember that they are literature.They have a character that is partly defined by the particular genre they are written in,by particular conven- tions of imagery and symbolism,and by a framework of reference to other literary works familiar to their readers.They are not simply-indeed,not at all simply-reflections of the human and natural environments of their time. Even compared to depending on more ordinary historical texts,which have their own conventions,too,and are rarely only what they purport to be on the surface,the use of poems is hazardous;but it is unavoidable
own Western medieval and ancient history. Quotation of sources also allows the reader some opportunity to conceptualize the evidence differently. The second purpose is to make it possible for him or her to enter, even if only for a moment or two, into the mental world of those who made the history examined in these pages. To acquire, as it were, a second, and imaginary, self. My own environmental values are probably close to those expressed by Aldo Leopold in his Sand County Almanac half a century ago:23 Wild things, I admit, had little human value until mechanization assured us of a good breakfast, and until science disclosed the drama of where they came from and how they live. The whole conflict thus boils down to a question of degree. We of the minority see a law of diminishing returns in progress; our opponents do not. I would be happy to be able to maintain this type of balance and to combine practicality and poetry in the way that he did. Readers who find themselves at odds with these views, from whichever side, catastrophist or cornucopian, should make allowances as appropriate. This can be put another way. While patterned catastrophe rules sand piles and stock markets,24 I am inclined to believe that, at a historical level, life is mostly logistic. That is, from time to time a near-equilibrium state springs into an accelerating growth, but after a time this acceleration slows down and vanishes, the system returning to a new near-equilibrium.25 This puts me philosophically closer to biologists and demographers than to orthodox economists, but it is always possible to argue about which part of the curve one is on. The initial section of a logistic looks exponential. Literate Chinese wrote poems constantly, and on a wider variety of themes than educated Westerners, often very mundane themes. Poems are as a consequence used more frequently in the chapters that follow than is common in Western historical writing. They often contain information not available elsewhere. This is why they are included, not for their impact on the heart. It is nonetheless necessary to remember that they are literature. They have a character that is partly defined by the particular genre they are written in, by particular conventions of imagery and symbolism, and by a framework of reference to other literary works familiar to their readers. They are not simply—indeed, not at all simply—reflections of the human and natural environments of their time. Even compared to depending on more ordinary historical texts, which have their own conventions, too, and are rarely only what they purport to be on the surface, the use of poems is hazardous; but it is unavoidable. xxvi Introductory Remarks
Introductory Remarks xxvii Most of the originals rhymed.Premodern Chinese poems generally do, apart from those-with a few exceptions-in the genre of rhapsodic prose- poems'or fu.This feature is hinted at in the translations given here by vowel- rhymes on the final stressed syllable of each line.Older Chinese poems also have a crystalline regularity of syllabic structure,usually with a break of some sort in,or near,the middle of each line.This regularity is not reproducible as a rule in polysyllabic English,but I have tried to suggest the breaks,at times marking the dividing caesura with adash.The free-floating unrhymed English lines pioneered by Arthur Waley,and more or less imitated by most translators ever since,however good (or bad)in their own right,misrepresent the sonic and metrical nature of historical Chinese mainstream poetry almost as totally as it is possible to do so. Here,as an illustration of the conventions I have adopted,are the opening lines of Ji Qiguang's"Farming Women,"probably written in the later seven- teenth century."The rhyming vowels are in bold,and all the midline breaks shown by a,which normally only needs to be done when the pause is not obvious: On a road beside the Huai River-I met with some farming women. They stood barefoot,with unkempt hair-on the rising slope of a ridge. Pointing to where the sun was setting-they told me,a stranger,their history: "Up there,in the western Huai valley-land and climate have always brought bitterness. "Only here and there are there farmable patches.-It's an arid waste, short of streams, Even if it produced Han Xin long ago-who helped found the Han in their glory. The wind there howls for three hundred miles.-Rice in the fields is infrequent, Though on the vein-like upland ridges-grows many a plot of sorghum." This is a powerful evocation of one of the most degraded landscapes of late- imperial times.It is material like this that,more than any other,enables one to build up,fragment by fragment,a picture of particular places at particular times. The most difficult practical obstacle to assimilating Chinese history for those who are not Chinese speakers is one that is,paradoxically,both trivial and all but insurmountable.This is remembering Chinese names of people and places
Most of the originals rhymed. Premodern Chinese poems generally do, apart from those—with a few exceptions—in the genre of rhapsodic ‘prosepoems’ or fu. This feature is hinted at in the translations given here by vowelrhymes on the final stressed syllable of each line. Older Chinese poems also have a crystalline regularity of syllabic structure, usually with a break of some sort in, or near, the middle of each line. This regularity is not reproducible as a rule in polysyllabic English, but I have tried to suggest the breaks, at times marking the dividing caesura with a ‘—’ dash. The free-floating unrhymed English lines pioneered by Arthur Waley, and more or less imitated by most translators ever since, however good (or bad) in their own right, misrepresent the sonic and metrical nature of historical Chinese mainstream poetry almost as totally as it is possible to do so. Here, as an illustration of the conventions I have adopted, are the opening lines of Ji Qiguang’s “Farming Women,” probably written in the later seventeenth century.26 The rhyming vowels are in bold, and all the midline breaks shown by a ‘—’, which normally only needs to be done when the pause is not obvious: On a road beside the Huai River — I met with some farming women. They stood barefoot, with unkempt hair — on the rising slope of a ridge. Pointing to where the sun was setting — they told me, a stranger, their history: “Up there, in the western Huai valley — land and climate have always brought bitterness. “Only here and there are there farmable patches. — It’s an arid waste, short of streams, Even if it produced Han Xin long ago — who helped found the Han in their glory. The wind there howls for three hundred miles. — Rice in the fields is infrequent, Though on the vein-like upland ridges — grows many a plot of sorghum.” This is a powerful evocation of one of the most degraded landscapes of lateimperial times. It is material like this that, more than any other, enables one to build up, fragment by fragment, a picture of particular places at particular times. The most difficult practical obstacle to assimilating Chinese history for those who are not Chinese speakers is one that is, paradoxically, both trivial and all but insurmountable. This is remembering Chinese names of people and places. Introductory Remarks xxvii
xxviii Introductory Remarks Much of the difficulty is the result of the transcription into identical roman letters of Chinese syllables that have different pitch-tones when spoken,and different ideographs when written,and of course different meanings.Where necessary,I have put in accents to indicate the different tones.Thus Zhou (in the falling tone)was the 'evil'last ruler of the Shang dynasty,and the Zhou (in the unmarked level tone)the dynasty that overthrew the Shang.The acute accent shows the rising tone,and the inverted circumflex the dipping-rising tone. The most commonly used transcription,and the one adopted in this book, pinyin,also seems to put mental barbed wire in the way of most English- speaking readers.The worst letters are the''pronounced as'ch'and the'c' pronounced as'ts'as in the English'cheats,and the'x'pronounced as'sh'as in she,and the 'zh'pronounced like the j'in 'Joe.Ignoring for a moment that Chinese does not have a final 'c,we could say that,with pinyin vowels,'she cheats Joe'would be written as'xi qic zhou.The noninitiated may be forgiven for finding this grotesque.I have therefore tried to put nonessential Chinese names in the notes or leave them out where possible. The plain inverted comma is used when the break between two transcribed vowels or syllables is not unambiguous.Xian'(one syllable)means 'a county; but 'Xi'an'(two syllables)is the city.The province names 'Hu'nan'and He'nan' are therefore properly written with the inverted comma,as hun'an'and hen'an'are both permissible pinyin readings. Converting historical Chinese measures of length,capacity,and weight is more a problem for the author than for readers.In general,where a precise equivalent is important,I have relied mainly on Qiu Guangming's Researches on Measures of Length,Capacity,and Weight in Successive Dynasties in China which is based on modern measurements of actual surviving measuring devices.These vary significantly among themselves,even for the same epoch, but in most cases a reasonable central value can be established.Normally I use the metric system,but a partial exception has been to allow myself 'miles' rather than the equivalent in kilometers'where a precise distance is of no great concern,and the old word comes more easily off the tongue.Likewise,and in the same sort of contexts,I sometimes use 'feet'and 'inches'which are close to their Chinese counterparts. I have tried to reduce scholarly clutter to a minimum.Thus square brackets have been removed from obvious and necessary interpolations in translations. Additional information about locations,dates,peoples,technical terms,and commentaries on problems,has mostly been put in endnotes. Bon voyage!
Much of the difficulty is the result of the transcription into identical roman letters of Chinese syllables that have different pitch-tones when spoken, and different ideographs when written, and of course different meanings. Where necessary, I have put in accents to indicate the different tones. Thus Zhòu (in the falling tone) was the ‘evil’ last ruler of the Shang dynasty, and the Zhou (in the unmarked level tone) the dynasty that overthrew the Shang. The acute accent shows the rising tone, and the inverted circumflex the dipping-rising tone. The most commonly used transcription, and the one adopted in this book, pinyin, also seems to put mental barbed wire in the way of most Englishspeaking readers. The worst letters are the ‘q’ pronounced as ‘ch’ and the ‘c’ pronounced as ‘ts’ as in the English ‘cheats’, and the ‘x’ pronounced as ‘sh’ as in ‘she’, and the ‘zh’ pronounced like the ‘j’ in ‘Joe’. Ignoring for a moment that Chinese does not have a final ‘c’, we could say that, with pinyin vowels, ‘she cheats Joe’ would be written as ‘xi qic zhou’. The noninitiated may be forgiven for finding this grotesque. I have therefore tried to put nonessential Chinese names in the notes or leave them out where possible. The plain inverted comma is used when the break between two transcribed vowels or syllables is not unambiguous. ‘Xian’ (one syllable) means ‘a county’, but ‘Xi'an’ (two syllables) is the city. The province names ‘Hu'nan’ and ‘He'nan’ are therefore properly written with the inverted comma, as ‘hun'an’ and ‘hen'an’ are both permissible pinyin readings. Converting historical Chinese measures of length, capacity, and weight is more a problem for the author than for readers. In general, where a precise equivalent is important, I have relied mainly on Qiu Guangming’s Researches on Measures of Length, Capacity, and Weight in Successive Dynasties in China27 which is based on modern measurements of actual surviving measuring devices. These vary significantly among themselves, even for the same epoch, but in most cases a reasonable central value can be established. Normally I use the metric system, but a partial exception has been to allow myself ‘miles’ rather than the equivalent in ‘kilometers’ where a precise distance is of no great concern, and the old word comes more easily off the tongue. Likewise, and in the same sort of contexts, I sometimes use ‘feet’ and ‘inches’ which are close to their Chinese counterparts. I have tried to reduce scholarly clutter to a minimum. Thus square brackets have been removed from obvious and necessary interpolations in translations. Additional information about locations, dates, peoples, technical terms, and commentaries on problems, has mostly been put in endnotes. Bon voyage! xxviii Introductory Remarks
1 U Landmarks and Time-marks The environmental history of China covers a varied space.The core is about 1,000 miles east to west and 1,200 miles north to south.Readers not already familiar with Chinese geography need points of reference if they are to place stories and analyses in a context. A first approximation is given in the accompanying schematic map.This shows present-day China's ten main regions simplified almost,but not quite, to the point of caricature.Readers who know China well should glance at it just long enough to note the definitions of the regions adopted here,as every important place-name is followed by a regional label when it first appears. Thus Beijing (Northeast)'and 'Shanghai(East)'show that these two cities are in the Northeast and East regions respectively.The table appended to Map 1on p.4 shows the major provinces assigned to each region.For a more detailed treatment of the historical geography,it is useful to have to hand an atlas such as C.Blunden and M.Elvin,A Cultural Atlas of China.' The basic social story of 'China'is the four-thousand-year expansion of Han'or 'Chinese'population,political power,and culture from their birth- place in the Northwest and Northeast,with secondary centers in the West and Center,into all the other areas shown,and indeed beyond them.?There were times when Han culture temporarily retreated.This was the case for the Northwest and Northeast from the third to the sixth centuries cE.'The temperature was colder in these years,as may be seen from Table 1 on p.6, and non-Han,or,in Han terms,barbarian,peoples swept in from the north, and the frontier between pasturage and farmed land moved south.During such times,which included the Mongol conquest,Chinese culture was in considerable measure assimilated by the conquerors,and when Han political
The environmental history of China covers a varied space. The core is about 1,000 miles east to west and 1,200 miles north to south. Readers not already familiar with Chinese geography need points of reference if they are to place stories and analyses in a context. A first approximation is given in the accompanying schematic map. This shows present-day China’s ten main regions simplified almost, but not quite, to the point of caricature. Readers who know China well should glance at it just long enough to note the definitions of the regions adopted here, as every important place-name is followed by a regional label when it first appears. Thus ‘Beijing (Northeast)’ and ‘Shanghai (East)’ show that these two cities are in the Northeast and East regions respectively. The table appended to Map 1 on p. 4 shows the major provinces assigned to each region. For a more detailed treatment of the historical geography, it is useful to have to hand an atlas such as C. Blunden and M. Elvin, A Cultural Atlas of China. 1 The basic social story of ‘China’ is the four-thousand-year expansion of ‘Han’ or ‘Chinese’ population, political power, and culture from their birthplace in the Northwest and Northeast, with secondary centers in the West and Center, into all the other areas shown, and indeed beyond them.2 There were times when Han culture temporarily retreated. This was the case for the Northwest and Northeast from the third to the sixth centuries ce. 3 The temperature was colder in these years, as may be seen from Table 1 on p. 6, and non-Han, or, in Han terms, ‘barbarian’, peoples swept in from the north, and the frontier between pasturage and farmed land moved south. During such times, which included the Mongol conquest, Chinese culture was in considerable measure assimilated by the conquerors, and when Han political 1 Landmarks and Time-marks