Page numbers in italic indicate illustrations.
agriculture: and commercial expansion, 107, 108
continuity in, 59–60
environmental impact, 6–11, 12, 14–15, 32–33, 56–57, 74–75, 190, 194–95
evolution in China, 16–17
historical development, 6–10, 12, 33, 46
as labor service for states, 21–22, 95–96, 104–5, 136, 155
as main subsistence strategy, 42
manuals, 199
origins and expansion, 39, 42–43, 191–92
plot sizes and layout, 172–73, 174
political organizations’ origin in, 74–75, 155, 191
and population growth, 15–16
seasonal cycle of farmers, 117–19, 121–22
Shang dynasty, 82–83
state and power evolution, 3, 6, 15, 17, 21, 74–75, 194, 197–98
and taxation, 9–10, 18, 22, 74–75, 193
Zhou Period, 64–73
animals (wild): in archaeological record, 47–48, 54, 56, 60, 68
attraction to farmed areas, 56
dietary evidence, 56
diversity evidence, 47
diversity reduction, 54, 69, 72, 99, 120
domestication’s impact, 62
and “Great Wall” of Qin, 179–80
large animals, elimination of, 85
in North China, 6, 35, 36, 38–39, 40–41
written evidence, 65. See also domesticated species; livestock
Annals of Lü Buwei, 147, 152, 183
Anthropocene, 15, 202–4, 207n2
Anyang, 7–8, 80–81, 82–83, 84, 88
archaeology: in Bronze Age, 63–64
and domestication, 42–43, 47, 56
and environmental change, 2, 56–57, 59
faunal record, 47–48, 54, 56, 60, 68
and political power, 20, 76–77
scholarship in China, 2, 11–12
settlements in, 48–49, 52–57, 63, 76–79
social divisions and wealth in, 20, 49, 52, 77–78
status in, 49
and text analysis, 11–12, 65. See also individual sites; specific periods or empires
artisans, in Qin, 144–45
Art of War (Sunzi), 74, 219–20
“Basic Annals of Qin,” 122, 123
Benjamin, Walter, 15
Blue, Gregory, 85
Book of Lord Shang, 135–36, 137, 154, 235
Book of Odes: fruit mentioned, 55–56, 214n36
jing field system, 95–96
plants and animals in Zhou, 65–69
“Zai shan” hymn, vi, 95–96, 205
on Zhou colonization, 88–89
bovids, 61–63, 71–72, 120, 180–82. See also cattle; sheep; water buffaloes
brassicas, 67
bronze: and animals, 80, 85, 86, 94, 221n21
in Shang, 81
vessels and weapons, 79, 80, 86
broomcorn (or common) millet (Panicum miliaceum), 44, 55
buildings, description and sizes, 49, 52
bureaucracy and bureaucratic government: as aspect of political centralization, 10, 23–24, 30, 111–12, 193
definition and concept, 24–25, 108, 110–11
development, 108
in environmental history, 24
in Qin, 116, 133, 143–44, 154, 156, 157, 161, 168, 193
in Spring and Autumn period, 104
in Warring States period, 111–12
burials. See cemeteries and tombs
canals, in Qin, 177–78. See also Zheng Guo Canal
capitalism, 202–3
cattle: in archaeology, 72
ceramic examples, 120
in Shang, 83–84
cemeteries and tombs: ceramic animals, 120
at Laoniupo, 88
of Qin, 122–23, 124, 125, 140, 144, 162
and stratification, 78, 79, 124
central governments: in Eastern Zhou, 102
in Qin, 160–65
chickens, 57, 61, 68, 121, 180
children, and nutrition, 121
China: administrative history, 30–31
arable river valleys and plains, 37
imperial system creation, 31, 90–91, 154
legal tradition, 102
map, 4–5
origins as political entity, 3
political model, 10, 24, 30, 87, 133, 189, 190–91, 193
premodern political systems, 12
replacement of nature, 1–2, 19, 31, 38
writing tradition, 30–31. See also North China, specific topics
Chu state, 103–4, 110, 132, 187
in Henan, 78–79
in Qin, 142–43. See also settlements
civilization, 15
clans. See lineages
class, divisions in, 7
climate, 34–37, 62–63, 210–11n5
colonization, 88–89, 128, 132, 195–96
commerce, 107–8, 121–22, 157, 188. See also economy
commoners/common people, 9, 18, 96, 176–77
convicts, as labor, 10, 156, 174, 177
counties (xian), 104, 127, 165–66
crimes, in Qin, 177
crops and harvest, 105–6, 167, 168–69
culture in China, 30, 112, 195–98
Dabuzishan tombs, 124
Dan River valley, 51, 116, 132
desalinization of fields, 152
disasters (natural), 18, 118, 169, 191
domesticated species: ceramic examples from tomb, 109, 120
and diseases, 60–61
exchange in East Asia, 61
impact on wild animals, 62, 69
and relationship with humans, 43–44, 180. See also individual species
domestication of animals and plants: agricultural bias, 39, 42
and archaeology, 42–43, 47, 56
bovids, 61–62
horses, 84
and wild/domesticated dichotomy, 43
wolves and dogs, 43–44
in Yangshao, 6–7, 48–49, 53, 56
Dujiangyan, 146
Eastern Zhou period: bureaucracy, 24–25
centralization of government, 102
land control, 100
officials in government, 98
periodization, 91
power and violence in, 100–101
taxation, 105–6. See also Spring and Autumn period; Warring States period
ecology: definition, 16
economy, 13, 143–45, 195, 202–4. See also agriculture; commerce
empire(s): continuity in China, 194–99
definition and rule of, 18
environmental impact, 12–13, 200
power in China, 193–94
environment: definition, 2
early views in China, 12
as history of society, 13
and patriarchy, 26
transformation in China, 1–2, 19, 31, 38
environmental history: bureaucracy in, 24
and the future, 203–4
scholarship on, 11
states in, 16–19
turning point in Qin, 133–34
and valorization of violence, 27
environmental impact: from agriculture, 6–11, 12, 14–15, 32–33, 56–57, 74–75, 190, 194–95
by European empires, 12–13, 199–200
of political organizations, 75–76, 85, 87, 90
population as proxy, 15–16
in PRC, 199
and Qin reforms, 115–16, 133, 136, 140, 153
by states, 19, 112–13, 193–95, 197, 199–202
Erligang (city and state): description and growth, 79–80, 87, 192
environmental impact, 87
western expansion, 57
European empires, transformation of nature, 12–13, 199–200
exploitation of resources: forests and metals, 183–87
human history, 14–15
and political power, 106–7
and size of settlements, 77
farming and farmland. See agriculture
feasting, 79–80
Feng. See Feng-Hao
fire / firewood and burning, 46, 59, 68, 85, 145, 184
fish and fishing: archaeological evidence, 47, 52, 54–55, 64
nets and traps, 54–55, 68–69, 218–19n63
in Zhou, 68
five-family mutual responsibility system, 103, 138, 165
food, 62, 118–19, 144. See also agriculture
foragers: diet and tools, 46–47
forests: in North China, 37–38
foxtail millet (Setaria italica), 44, 45, 55
in written record, 55–56, 66, 214n36
gender inequalities, in archaeological evidence, 49, 55, 121
geography of North China, 34–38
Gongsun Yang. See Shang Yang
gourds and melons, 66–67
grain: in archaeology, 43, 46, 47
cultivation’s impact, 44–46
importance to states, 45
as income and resource in Qin, 155, 163–64, 168
as source of power, 21
storage in early China, 44
surpluses and labor service for states, 21–22, 174
granaries: administration by government, 155–56
distribution in Qin, 175–76
“Great Wall” of Qin, 179–80
grinding mills, 152
group violence, and patriarchy, 27
Guanzhong Basin (Shaanxi Province): as base for early states, 34
Bronze Age sites, 63–64
description and historical importance, 2–3
divergence in Longshan, 57–58
ecosystem and environment, 37–39, 140
geography and climate, 34–37
grain evidence in archaeology, 46, 47
Longshan archaeological sites, 57–63, 58
population, 140, 141, 221–22n24
and Qin, 8, 9–10, 126–33, 140–46, 153
Qin archaeological sites, 140, 141, 233n49
as study region, 34
water, 140
Yangshao archaeological sites, 48–49, 50–51, 52–57
in Zhou period, 64–65
Guliang commentary, 107
hairpins, 93
Han Dynasty and Empire: description, extent, and practices, 10, 188, 193, 196
as political model, 10, 154, 190, 193
taxation and surplus, 193
water control, 178
Han History (Han shu) (Ban Gu): on central government, 161, 162, 163
historical role of, 30
on horses, 182
land productivity, 172
as source, 156
Hao. See Feng-Hao
hemp, 59, 65, 67, 117–19, 144, 168
herding and pastoralism: control by states, 196
description and role, 127–28
as metaphor for rulers and ruled, 17
in Western Zhou, 93
Historical Records (Shi ji) (Sima Qian), 122, 126–27, 132, 156
historical writings in China, 30–31
Holocene, 35–37, 42, 62–63, 210–11n5
Hopkins, Keith, 173
horseback riding, 108, 109, 129
horses: appearance in Longshan, 8, 61
breeding and procurement, 99
in bronze, 94, 221n21
burial, 88
domestication, 84
extinction in wild, 129
in Qin, 109, 122, 129, 181, 182
household levy, 168
household records, in Qin, 167
houses, description and sizes, 49, 52
Huanbei (city), 81
hunting: as benefit for agriculture, 85
on bronze, 94
in royal parks, 99, 107, 126, 145
in Shang, 84–85
and status or elites, 69, 84–85
institutions. See political organizations
iron and iron tools, 140–41, 184–85
irrigation: in North China, 34, 70–71
in text records, 147
Jiangzhai site, 6–7, 12, 49, 52, 54, 67
Jia Yi, 114–15
Jing (Han emperor), ceramics from tomb, 120
Jing (Qin lord) tomb, 124, 125
jing field system (“well-field” system), 95–96
jujube fruit (Ziziphus jujube), 55, 66
Korolkov, Maxim, 169
land: allocation in Qin state, 168, 171–73
as military service privilege, 9, 136, 173
and population, 170–71
productivity, 172
separation of farmers from ownership, 21, 136
transfers in Zhou, 97, 98, 99–100
landscapes, domestication in North China, 33, 140
land tax, in Qin, 168
Laoguantai period and sites, 46, 46–47
Laoniupo site, 58, 63, 64, 87–88, 222n26
laws and legal documents, 102, 156, 171–72, 183–84
lineages (or clans): in Qin, 137
in Warring States, 111
livestock. See cattle; chickens; horses; sheep; water buffaloes
Loess Plateau, 34–35, 35, 36, 37, 70
Loewe, Michael, 133
Longshan period and sites: archaeological sites, 49, 52, 57–63, 58, 77–78
beginning of surplus and states, 7
cultural exchange evidence, 61
description and features, 7, 8
domestication of animals and plants, 57, 60–62
inequality increases, 58–59
main changes in Guanzhong Basin, 57–59. See also individual sites
mammals, 26, 38, 40–41, 48, 179–82, 214n38
Maojiaping site, 122–23
maps, in Qin, 164
markets, 22, 65, 121, 157, 169, 195
mathematics, 112
men and power, in archaeological evidence, 49. See also patriarchy
Mesopotamia, 20–22
military power, and male violence, 27
military service: as labor, 174
land as privilege, 9, 136, 173
rank system in Qin, 9, 136–37, 138, 156, 171–72
milk consumption, 62
millets, 45
in archaeological evidence, 55, 59
description and importance in North China, 44, 45–46, 53
in history of agriculture, 6, 7, 9, 34, 44, 47
in seasonal cycle, 45–46
mining, in Qin, 184–85
ministries (government), 162–63, 236–37n12
money (or coins), 17, 22, 157, 169
“Monthly Ordinances” (Yue ling) 71, 117, 119
mulberry trees, 67–68, 118, 171
mutual liability system, 138, 165
nature, 207n2. See also environment
Neolithic period: archaeology in China, 11, 12, 20, 46–49, 52–57
early archaeological sites, 46
grain stores, 44
in Mesopotamia, 20–21
socioeconomic stratification, 20. See also individual sites
North China geography, climate, and ecology, 34–39. See also agriculture; specific topics
North China Plain, and Qin, 159
Offices of Zhou (Zhou li), 143–44, 164, 183, 234n55
officials in government, 97–98, 101, 111–12, 161–66
“On Herding the People” (essay), 14, 17, 206–7
oral health. See teeth
oxen and ox-drawn plows, 71–72, 181
palaces, and economic life, 143–45
paleoecology, in China, 2
parks, Qin royal, 99, 107, 126, 145–46
pastoral nomadism. See herding and pastoralism
patrilineal kinship, 81–82, 91
peace, and environmental change, 10, 19, 99, 194
People’s Republic of China (PRC), 10, 29, 199
plant fibers, use of, 52, 59–60, 66–67, 218n60
plants, 55–56, 65–68. See also domestication of animals and plants
plows, 71–72
political organizations: environmental impact, 75–76, 85, 87, 90
and the future, 201–4
historical overview, 7–11
Mesopotamia as example, 20–21, 22
origins, 20–22, 74–75, 155, 191
reuse of earlier model by states, 10, 24, 30, 87, 133, 189, 190–91, 193
rise as dynamic of history, 22–23, 191–93
warfare in growth of, 27–28, 75, 76. See also states
political power: in archaeological evidence, 20, 76–77
centralization in bureaucracy, 10, 23–24, 30, 111–12, 193
from commoners’ perspective, 18
description and definition, 17–18
early ideas, 11
emergence from agriculture, 3, 6, 15, 17, 21, 74–75, 194, 197–98
origins in East Asia, 76–90
use of existing systems, 10, 23–24. See also specific empires or periods
population (human): cultural homogenization, 100–101, 196
density in Guanzhong Basin, 221–22n24
increase due to agriculture, 42, 44
and labor, 71
and land, 170–71
numbers as proxy for environmental impact, 15–16
“Qin” as origin of “China,” 3, 188
Qinling Mountains, 35, 37, 130–31, 131, 132
Qin state and empire: administrative history, 30, 126–27, 133, 134, 137–38, 142–45, 155–67, 190–91
agricultural system, 155–56
agriculture and food supply, 128, 144, 145, 175–76
agriculture expansion and reforms, 115, 133, 135–36, 138–39, 146, 151–52, 192–93
animals, 180–82
archaeological documents, 2
archaeological sites, 140, 141, 233n49
bureaucracy (centralized), 116, 133, 143–44, 154, 156, 157, 161, 168, 193
burials in archaeological evidence, 122–23, 124
collapse, 25, 154, 180, 187–88
early history and rise, 8–9, 122–26, 128–29, 152–53
Empire, 158
environmental impact, 160, 177–80
expansion into Guanzhong Basin, 8, 126–33
financial affairs, 163–64
forests and mines, 182–87
formation and zenith, 9–10, 114–15, 188
grain and taxes, 9–10, 167–70, 174, 190, 193
important locations, 116
information gathering, 164–65, 167, 168–69
move to central Guanzhong Basin, 9–10, 140–46, 153
oxen use, 72
as political model, 10, 133, 189, 190, 191, 193
as political organization, 155–60
power and government, 115, 124, 127, 128–30, 133–35, 138, 152–53, 155
rank system, 9, 136–37, 138, 156, 171–72
records about, 108
reforms and impact on environment, 115–16, 133, 136, 140, 153
royal burials and elite tombs, 124, 125, 162
seasonal cycle of farmers, 117–19, 121–22
state-strengthening reforms, 30, 115, 133–40, 153
territories (“old” and “new”), 157–59, 158
water control, 125–26, 140, 143, 146–52, 150, 177–78
and Zhou, 91, 114–15, 123–24, 130
registers, in Qin, 166–67
roads, in Qin, 177
Roman empire, 10, 23, 28, 161, 173
royal parks, 99, 107, 126, 145
settlements: appearance in China, 48–49, 191–92
archaeological evidence, 48–49, 52–57, 63, 76–79
in Bronze Age, 77
building by Zhou, 89
as ecosystems, 56
in Erligang, 80
walled towns, 7–8, 57, 78, 79, 81
in Western Zhou, 65
sex, and power, 26
sexual division of labor, 26, 68, 121
Shang dynasty: allies and tributes, 83
animals and hunting, 83–85
archaeological sites, 88
cattle and animals in workshops, 83–84
conquest by Zhou, 64, 87, 89–90, 192
labor, surplus, and power, 82–83, 87
political organization, 81–83, 87
society and lineages, 81–83
tribute collection, 98
Shang Yang (a.k.a. Gongsun Yang): on ecological logic of states, 17
influence and role in Qin, 9, 115, 134, 193
on surplus creation, 25
sheep, 1, 17, 56, 60–62, 98, 120, 128, 166
Shen Buhai, 134
Shi Nianhai, 11
Sima Qian: on Qin, 107, 122, 135, 136–37, 138, 164–65, 179, 180, 181
on “Qin records,” 229n12
and Zheng Guo Canal, 147–48, 149, 152
social evolutionism, 28
society: changes in Longshan, 57
environment as history of, 13
hierarchy and stratification, 8, 9, 17
and human biology, 26
transition from landholding to selling of labor, 21
socioeconomic stratification, 20, 52, 57, 77–78, 88
sparrows, 45, 56
“Spreading Out” (ode 237), 88–89
Spring and Autumn Annals, 105
Spring and Autumn period: description, 91
job allocation and titles, 101
written laws, 102
state, definition of, 17–18
states: centralization of power, 23
ecological logic, 17
encouragement of agriculture, 16–17, 197–98
and environmental history, 16–19
environmental impact, 19, 112–13, 193–95, 197, 199–202
exploitation of resources, 183, 197–98
fluctuation of power, 28, 193–94
labor service, 21–22, 95–96, 104–5, 136, 155
land control, 75
origins and evolution, 7–8, 27–28, 112–13, 191–93
and patriarchy, 25–26
transition to, 22–25
state-strengthening reforms: in PRC, 29, 199
in Spring and Autumn period, 103–4, 105
status, archaeological evidence, 49
“Statute on Agriculture,” 138, 177
“Statutes on Granaries,” 175–76
“Statutes on Stables and Parks,” 181, 182
surplus, definition of, 25
sustainability, early views in China, 12
“sustainable development,” 202
Taerpo ceramic horse rider, 109
taxes and taxation: and agriculture, 9–10, 18, 22, 74–75, 193
and grain or granaries, 9–10, 18, 168, 174
history in China, 104–5
as model of governance, 190
and production for more taxes, 25
in Qin, 9–10, 167–70, 174, 190, 193
standardization, 106
systems and structures, 167–68
tax farming by Romans, 23
teeth and oral health, in archaeology, 53, 55, 60
temperate forests, 38
textiles, 49, 59, 67–68, 117–19
texts. See written texts
“They Clear Away the Grass” (“Zai shan”; ode 290), vi, 95, 96, 205.
“Three Thousand Years of Unsustainable Growth” (Elvin), 85, 87, 203
Tilly, Charles, 29
tombs. See cemeteries and tombs
“Tribute of Yu” (Yu gong), 82–83
turtle shells and plastrons, 83
urbanization, 7, 78–81, 142–43
villages. See settlements
von Glahn, Richard, 195
walled towns, 7–8, 57, 78, 79, 81, 143
warfare: in formation of states and political organizations, 27–28, 75, 76
state-strengthening reforms, 29–30, 136
Warring States period: commercial expansion, 107–8
description, 91
natural resources, 182–83
territories and control, 110
water buffaloes, 6, 41, 48, 69, 85, 86
water control: in archaeology and texts, 147
as power of states, 198–99
in Qin, 125–26, 140, 143, 146–52, 177–78
in Western Zhou, 70–71, 93, 126. See also Zheng Guo Canal
Wei River, 34, 37, 63, 122, 142–43, 145
Wei state, 108, 110, 116, 130, 134
“well-field” system (jing field system), 95–96
Western Zhou period: archaeological evidence, 93, 122–23
architecture and buildings, 92–93
commoners, 96
fall of, 90–91
government, 97–98
irrigation and water control, 70–71, 93, 126
job allocation and titles, 97–98
labor service in agriculture, 95–96, 104–5
laws, 102
lineages, 96–97
political power, 23, 93, 95–97
Wittfogel, Karl, 11, 206n7, 208n10
wolves, domestication of, 43–44
wood and timber, 68, 184, 185, 186, 187
workshops, 79, 83–84, 144, 166
writing: and bureaucracy, 24, 110–11
first evidence, 81
as form of power, 24
in Qin, 126
of regulations, 111
written laws, 102
written texts: discoveries in China, 2, 156
as evidence vs. archaeology, 11–12, 65
xian (counties), 104, 127, 165–66
Xi’an area, importance, 2–3, 143
Xipo site, 49, 54, 55, 56, 214n37
Xunzi, 32, 71, 72, 147, 183, 210
Yangshao period and sites: archaeological sites and evidence, 48–57, 50–51
description, 6
domestication of animals and plants, 6–7, 48–49, 53, 56
second half, 54–57. See also individual sites
Yanshi site, 79
Yellow River valley, 3, 34, 40–41, 128
Yong (Qin capital), 116, 123–26, 130
Yueyang (city), 116, 142
“Zai shan” (“They Clear Away the Grass”; ode 290), vi, 95, 96, 205
Zhangjiashan statutes, 156, 167, 171–72, 178
Zheng (Qin king, later First Emperor): description, 155
mausoleum complex, 124, 146, 178–79, 179
power, 160–61
Zheng Guo Canal, 146–52
Zhou dynasty and state: administration, 92, 97–98
conquest of Shang, 64, 87, 89–90, 192
description, 8, 64–65, 87, 88, 90–91, 192
grain surpluses and labor service, 22
land use, 97–100
origins, 87–90
as political power, 87, 90–92, 99–101, 104–6, 111, 192
and Qin, 91, 114–15, 123–24, 130
significance, 90
tribute collection, 98–99. See also Eastern Zhou period; Western Zhou period
Zhouyuan (“Plain of Zhou”), 35, 88–89, 92–93, 123–24, 126, 140
Zichan, 103