Gao, Yan. Yangzi Waters: Transforming the Water Regime of the Jianghan Plain in Late Imperial China. Leiden: Brill, 2022.
This book centers on the changes of polders and investigates the complex hydro-social relationships of the Jianghan Plain in late imperial China. Once a “hydraulic frontier” where local communities managed the polders, the Jianghan Plain became a state-led hydro-electric powerhouse by the mid-twentieth century. Through meticulous historical analysis, this book shows how water politics, cultural practice, and ecology interplayed and transformed the landscape and waterscape of the plain from a long-term perspective. By touching on topics such as religious beliefs, ethnic tension and militarization, the author reveals a plain in between nature and culture that has never been fully examined before. (Source: Brill)
© 2022 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Used by permission.