An initial exploration of the history of China's environmental changes and its characteristics

Abstract

From the 1990s, environmental degradations received ample attention both in the academic community and the general public in China. However, these issues had appeared before over the past two millennia. Indeed, over the course of Chinese history, there were several “golden periods” such as the Han, the Tang, and the Ming and the Qing. Yet looking closely at their accomplishments, one can see that these glories, often built on marked agricultural expansion, caused serious detriments (loss of water source and forests, etc.) to the Chinese environment. In order for China to achieve a sustainable development into the future, one needs to draw historical lessons from the past and balance between the needs for economic growth and environmental protection.

Keywords:

• Climate change
• deforestation
• environmental degradation
• loss of arable land and water source
• population pressure

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Yantie lun: weitong (Discourse on salt and iron: undeveloped wealth).