East Asian History, 2002 vol. 23 no 1
Abstract: Differences in microenvironments---defined by geology, geomorphology,
and hydrology-led to major differences in the nature of the environmental
problems created by economic development in different parts of the Erhai
catchment in southwestern China during the premodern period. In particular
we show that the second half of the eighteenth century was the critical period
for the onset of rapid environmental degradation in the northern part of the
catchment. From this it is established that premodern Chinese irrigated
farming cannot be defined as indefinitely 'sustainable' without major qualifications.