Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents ix
3. Lists of Illustrations, Maps, and Tables xi
4. Preface and Acknowledgments xv
5. Note on Conventions xxi
6. Introduction: Understanding China through Its Ecological History 1
7. Part I. Setting the Scene
8. 1. A Tour of China’s Social-Ecological Systems 25
9. 2. Development, Revolution, and Science 63
10. Part II. Land, Water, and Food
11. 3. Feeding a Starving Nation, 1949–1957 93
12. 4. Three Years of Disasters, 1958–1961 118
13. 5. Normal Socialist Agriculture, 1962–1978 139
14. 6. Solving the Warm and Full Problem, 1978–1998 157
15. 7. Every Last Drop, 1998–2022 176
16. 8. Dammed If You Do, 1993–2021 201
17. 9. A Toxic Cornucopia, 2000–2022 230
18. 10. Big Ag and Its Ecosystem Effects, 2002–2022 256
19. Part III. Cities and Industry
20. 11. A Revolution of Steel, 1949–1961 287
21. 12. Normal Socialist Industry, 1962–1980 309
22. 13. Factory to the World, 1984–2015 327
23. 14. Building an Urban Continent, 1980–2022 351
24. 15. Sludge Abides, 1990–2022 378
25. 16. Paradoxes of Eco-Development, 1998–2022 401
26. Conclusion: Chinese History as Ecological History 423
27. Glossary of Chinese Terms, Sayings, and Slogans 441
28. Notes 447
29. References 455
30. Index 527