Understanding the Human-Water Relationship in China during 722 B.C.-1911 A.D. from a Contradiction and Co-Evolutionary Perspective

Wang, Jianhua; Wei, Yongping; Jiang, Shan; Zhao, Yong; Zhou, Yuyan; Xiao, Wang

doi:10.1007/s11269-016-1555-8

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The water supply and fertile alluvial plains provided by rivers encourage cultivation (Mozzi, Piovan, & Corrò, 2020), and the waterway transportation on rivers was advantageous for transporting goods and stimulating communication (Wang et al, 2020). Thus, rivers and settlements constitute a co‐evolutionary system (2017). Even though rivers provide benefit and convenience for local inhabitants, areas close to rivers are more likely to suffer from floods.…”

Section: Influencing Factors and Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial characteristics and influencing factors of Chinese traditional villages in eight provinces the Yellow River flows through

Gao

Bian

et al. 2021

River Research & Apps

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Along with global urbanization and the dominant trend toward urban‐based policies, traditional villages are facing imbalanced development and the fate of revitalization or decline. In this study, 1,222 Chinese traditional villages in eight provinces the Yellow River flows through have been selected as the typical physical bearers of Chinese civilization of an investigation into the multi‐scale spatial characteristics, and multiple influencing factors and mechanisms for regional patterns and spatial differentiation. Spatial analysis methods, including nearest neighbor index and kernel density, are applied to figure out the great regional differentiation in the overall pattern and specific distribution characteristics in each province. Physical environment factors and socioeconomic influencing factors are analyzed and compared using geographical detectors. The results show that: (a) The overall spatial distribution of the traditional villages shows great regional differentiation and is characterized by “two cores,” “three distribution modes,” and “four types of the absence” of traditional villages; (b) the spatial distribution of traditional villages in the Yellow River Basin is affected both by natural factors and by socioeconomic factors, with natural factors having the greater impact; and (c) there is no inevitable correlation between the level of economic development and the rise and fall of traditional villages. By analyzing and revealing the external forces and internal motivation and influencing factors of renewal and evolution, and the wisdom and culture behind the physical places, this research can deepen the understanding of traditional villages, enable traditional society to better adapt to contemporary society, and provide reference for rural revitalization and regional development of rural areas and the Yellow River Basin.

show abstract

Section: Influencing Factors and Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial characteristics and influencing factors of Chinese traditional villages in eight provinces the Yellow River flows through

Gao

Bian

et al. 2021

River Research & Apps

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Dujiangyan, the most famous water conservancy work, has made Chengdu Plain the 'Land of Abundance' with floods and droughts under control in the vast fertile soils. The Hexi Corridor in the north-western frontier and the drinking water projects in the Hetao Plain of the Yellow River greatly boosted the socio-economic development of the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC-220 AD) (Wang et al, 2017). At the same time, irrigated agriculture has evolved in the drainage areas of the Mississippi River in North America, the Amazon River in South America, the Nile River in Africa and the Yangtze River, Indus and Ganges in Asia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water resource management for irrigated agriculture in China: Problems and prospects

Liu

et al. 2023

Irrigation and Drainage

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agriculture underpins the continuous development and progress of society. As water resources impose a major constraint on economic and social development, strengthened management and scientific allocation of water resources for agricultural purpose has become a hot issue of concern for countries around the world. This is particularly important for China, a large, populous country, to safeguard its food security. In 2010, irrigation, on which China's crop production is highly dependent, contributed 32.4% of the national grain yield. With rapid economic development, however, agriculture has always faced competition for water with nonagricultural sectors. Given water and land shortage and growing rigid grain demand in China and based on the decoupling theory, this paper analyses the relationship between grain yield and irrigation water use from 2000 to 2020. The paper examines the impacts on grain yield brought by such factors as irrigation water use, effective irrigation area, fertilizer application and labour input and explores China's agricultural water security mechanism. The results show that grain yield has been significantly affected by irrigation water use, but such dependence is gradually reducing at this stage. China tries to guarantee agricultural water use by developing farmland water conservation and water-saving irrigation, but future agricultural water use will be affected by a variety of factors, including the intensified constraint of adversely distributed water and land resources, poor operation and management of irrigation works, transfer of water rights from agriculture to industry and potential conversion of irrigated areas. This calls for red lines that define the lower and upper limits of agricultural water use to ensure agricultural water security.

show abstract

“…Technology development started to accelerate in the Qin Dynasty (255 BC) and lasted until the SY Period due to bureaucratic feudal structures that centralised resources for development. However, as confirmed by numerous scholars (Needham and Bray, 1984;Shen, 2010;Wang et al, 2017), the traditional agricultural technology system did not reach stabilisation as proposed by Rotmans (2005). It was unable to achieve a new dynamic equilibrium that featured contemporary scientific knowledge.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The development of ancient Chinese agricultural and water technology from 8000 BC to 1911 AD

Wei

Head

et al. 2019

Palgrave Commun

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Technology developments have made significant impacts on both humans and the environment in which they live. However, there is limited whole-of-system understanding of ancient technology development. This paper aims to uncover the evolutionary pattern of the ancient Chinese agricultural technology system that focused on land and water mobilisations from 8000 BC to 1911 AD. Our findings show that agricultural technology in China transitioned through an extremely slow, S-shaped pathway, increasing only ten fold in over 8000 years. The technology system was initially driven by tangible tools (40% of growth), then by technological theories and practices that contributed more than 50% of growth. Its development was spatially inclined to the Yellow River then to the Yangtze River region, where over 45% of technologies were developed. This study provides an empirical baseline for comparative studies between pre-industrial and industrial technologies. Greater understanding of the mechanisms of technology development will be required to reorientate technology development for present and future generations.

show abstract

Understanding the Human-Water Relationship in China during 722 B.C.-1911 A.D. from a Contradiction and Co-Evolutionary Perspective

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

Spatial characteristics and influencing factors of Chinese traditional villages in eight provinces the Yellow River flows through

Spatial characteristics and influencing factors of Chinese traditional villages in eight provinces the Yellow River flows through

Water resource management for irrigated agriculture in China: Problems and prospects

The development of ancient Chinese agricultural and water technology from 8000 BC to 1911 AD

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About