Local Realities and Environmental Changes in the History of East Asia

Book excerpt: "This book examines the local realities and environmental changes in East Asia, and is one of a few publications in English on the subject. Contributors apply rich historical material, maps and statistical data to reveal the local environmental realities infused by global perspectives. Part I deals with attitude toward nature, focusing on the soundscape conceived by traditional Chinese literati and on "industrious revolution" in Tokugawa Japan. Part II includes four case studies which respectively discuss the hydraulic management and political ecology in the Yongle reign (1403-1424), the "Woosung Bar" controversy in the 1870s, the expansion of Daihaizi Reservoir in Xinjiang in the 1950s, and interactions between the indigenous communities and NGOs in Hualien, Taiwan. Part III presents case studies of Japan dealing with natural disasters: volcano eruption, floods, and the human actions around Tokyo since the eighteenth century. These chapters and the insights they offer provide the reader with the most recent research on East Asian environmental history.