Dikes and Society in Rural China: The Jianghan Plain, 1788-2010s (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9789004727236)

To feed an ever-growing population in a water-rich region, the people of the Jianghan Plain in Central China constantly built dikes and polders. As China's political system changed dramatically from 1788 to the 2010s, the governance of Jianghan's dikes and polders also changed, moving from indirect supervision by the state to direct management. This shift has dramatically improved the security of the dike systems and has had a profound impact on the Jianghan people's lives. Based on rarely used local gazetteers and newly available archival materials, this book uses a multidimensional interactive approach to explore water control and state-society relations in rural China over the past three centuries.

Author: Jiayan Zhang
ISBN-10: 900472723X
ISBN-13: 9789004727236
Publisher: Brill
Language: English
Published: 08/07/2025
Pages: 428
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.70lbs
Size: 9.25h x 6.10w x 0.94d