The Retreat of the Elephants; An Environmental History of China

by Mark Elvin

• ISBN13: 9780300101119
• ISBN10: 0300101112
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-03-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Author Biography

Mark Elvin is professor of Chinese history at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
Acknowledgments	ix
Permissions	xiii
Conventions	xv
Introductory Remarks	xvii
Patterns	1	(164)
1 Landmarks and Time-marks	3	(6)
2 Humans v. Elephants: The Three Thousand Years War	9	(10)
3 The Great Deforestation: An Overview	19	(21)
4 The Great Deforestation: Regions and Species	40	(46)
5 War and the Logic of Short-term Advantage	86	(29)
6 Water and the Costs of System Sustainability	115	(50)
Particularities	165	(154)
7 Richness to Riches: The Story of Jiaxing	167	(49)
8 Chinese Colonialism: Guizhou and the Miao	216	(57)
9 The Riddle of Longevity: Why Zunhua?	273	(46)
Perceptions	319	(135)
10 Nature as Revelation	321	(48)
11 Science and Superfauna	369	(44)
12 Imperial Dogma and Personal Perspectives	413	(41)
Concluding Remarks	454	(18)
Notes	472	(58)
Bibliography	530	(18)
Index	548