The ecology of war in China : Henan Province, the Yellow River, and beyond, 1938-1950 / Micah S. Muscolino.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Muscolino, Micah S., 1977- author.

Series:

Studies in environment and history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nature--Effect of human beings on.

History.

Environmental degradation.

Refugees.

Henan Sheng (China)--History, Military--20th century.

Henan Sheng (China).

Henan Sheng (China)--Environmental conditions.

Yellow River (China)--History, Military--20th century.

Yellow River (China).

Yellow River (China)--Environmental conditions.

Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Environmental aspects--China--Henan Sheng.

Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945.

Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Environmental aspects--China--Yellow River.

Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Refugees.

Environmental degradation--China--Henan Sheng--History--20th century.

Nature--Effect of human beings on--China--Henan Sheng--History--20th century.

Nature.

China--Henan Sheng.

Physical Description:

xiii, 294 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Summary:

"This book explores the interplay between war and environment in Henan Province, a hotly contested frontline territory that endured massive environmental destruction and human disruption during the conflict between China and Japan during World War II. In a desperate attempt to block Japan's military advance, Chinese Nationalist armies under Chiang Kai-shek broke the Yellow River's dikes in Henan in June 1938, resulting in devastating floods that persisted until after the war's end. Greater catastrophe struck Henan in 1942-3, when famine took some two million lives and displaced millions more. Focusing on these war-induced disasters and their aftermath, this book conceptualizes the ecology of war in terms of energy flows through and between militaries, societies, and environments. Ultimately, Micah Muscolino argues that efforts to procure and exploit nature's energy in various forms shaped the choices of generals, the fates of communities, and the trajectory of environmental change in North China"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A militarized river : the 1938 Yellow River flood and its aftermath

Stories of survival : refugee migration and ecological adaptation

Military metabolism and the Henan famine of 1942-3

Against the flow : hydraulic instability and ecological exhaustion

The ecology of displacement : social and environmental effects of refugee migration

The land needs the people, the people need the land : beginnings of postconflict recovery

Reconstruction and revolution.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781107071568

1107071569

9781107417595

1107417597

OCLC:

894557470

Online:

Cover image