A Tentative Review of the Studies on the Environmental History of Ancient China

The existing research findings of our environmental history fail to attach due importance to the environmental history of ancient China. The studies of China's environmental history should extend the time scope further to more ancient times and raise interdisciplinary research awareness. Such studies can help us trace our sources of culture and ecology, and better understand the current world and humanity itself. Studies on the environmental history of ancient China also need to be equipped with corresponding research concepts, orientation and approaches.

The enduring link between forest cover and rainfall： a historical perspective on science and policy discussions

Background： This article traces the history of scientific ideas connecting forest cover with rainfall to inform ongoing debates about whether forests are net users or producers of water in the hydrological cycle. Scholars of the supply-side school argue that forests are net producers and magnifiers that increase rainfall at regional scales. Supply-side scholars seek to challenge the dominance of demand-side thinking. The demand-side school emphasizes that trees are net users of water within a catchment that decrease overall water available for other users. This scientific debate has significant implications for the development of policies to manage forests and water. Results： Scientists have debated the question of whether forests improve or worsen water balance for over two hundred years. Connections between forests and rainfall gained prominence in scientific circles during the second half of the nineteenth century and again during the past three decades. The popularity of forest- rainfall connections has paralleled societal and scientific interest in anthropogenic climate change and deforestation. Theories connecting forests with rainfall peaked in popularity in the 1850s to 1880s, a period when scientists expressed alarm that deforestation caused regional declines in precipitation. Forests were understood to create rain within a locality and region. Scientific consensus shifted by the early twentieth century to the view that forests did not play a significant role in determining rainfall. The forest-rainfall connection reemerged in the 1980s alongside advances in climate modelling and growing fears of anthropogenic global warming and tropical deforestation. Using new data and theories, supply-side advocates have once again placed a strong forest-rainfall connection into scientific prominence. Conclusion： Supply-side management policies have a checkered history that should elicit caution, while demand-side policies, which are based on almost a century of hydrological research, should not be overturned quickly in regions that face potential water scarcity before more research is conducted.

Removing the Historical Town of Most： Technocratic and Humanistic Thought in the Practice of State Socialism

The pushing through of the idea to destroy the historical town of Most and to build a modem town of the same name nearby, as well as the carrying out of this idea, took place in Northern Bohemia between 1960 and 1980. The immediate cause and chief argument for implementing the whole project was the fact that the old town was located on large supplies of lignite （brown coal）. On the basis of the archival research of this ＂great experiment＂, substantial theses and questions can be formulated. Primarily, the justification of the destruction of a Medieval town and a construction of a new urbane centre was dominated （rather than by communist utopia） by economic and technocratic thought. It was the logics of quantitative calculation, and financial gains and losses, which enforced the plan and shaped the practice of destruction and construction. In this context, the role of the humanistic socialist discourse of justice and good life has to be inquired. This traditional thought was used to back up the technocratic decision as well as to articulate intellectual critique of the whole project. It is especially this ambivalent relationship between the two modernist discourses （the technocratic and humanistic thought）, which constitutes the core of this paper.

Preface-Understanding the coevolution of life and environment in great turning periods of Earth history

Wherever the first life originated, the Earth has grown organisms. The Earth provides life with all the basicelements required for the composition and growth of life. And of more importance is that the Earth has

China’s historical evolution of environmental protection along with the forty years’reform and opening-up

Along with the 40 years of reform and opening-up,China’s ecological and environmental management system has been evolving continuously.Since the start of the ecological and environmental protection in 1972,China has witnessed“great leaps”of reform on environmental management system about once every 10 years,in order to address the prominent environmental issues at different development stages,and continuously reform,innovate and develop the ecological and environmental governance systems and modes with Chinese characteristics.China adheres to solve environmental problems in the process of development,takes the improvement of the ecological and environmental quality as the core task,and gradually builds its ecological and environmental management systems conforming to the characteristics of different development stages,including a sound ecological and environmental planning&policy system,an improved ecological and environmental governance system and a complete ecological and environmental legal system.During the process of building the socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era,we should aim at the strategic goal of building a Beautiful China,keep focused on China while stay connected with the world,adhere to green development,accomplish top-level design,build a new pattern of ecological and environmental management system,and co-construct a clean and beautiful world.

Exploration of the Relationship between Geographical Environment and Human Diseases in Ancient China

The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine (黄帝内经素问Huangdi Neijing Suwen), created in the Warring States period (475 to 221 BC) described a phenomenon whereby the eastern, western, northern, southern, and central regions were liable to different diseases. It brought forward the principle of treatment in accordance with local conditions. Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals, Huai Nan Tzu (Huainanzi), and the Regiment of Health (Yangshenglun) in the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties all describe regional diseases such as goiter (endemic goiter) and yellowish teeth (dental fluorosis) as being caused by geologic and climatic factors. Zhang (miasma), first mentioned in the Han Dynasty, was considered related to the summer heat and dampness particular to the geographical environment of the south. Zhang was further associated with malaria in the Jin Dynasty. General Treatise on the Etiology and Symptomology of Diseases (Zhubingyuanhou Lun), in the Sui Dynasty, held that as a type of poisonous gas, Zhang was the predisposing cause of malaria, seasonal disease, and barbiers, among other conditions. General Guide (Zhinan Zonglun), in the Southern Song Dynasty, regarded Zhang malaria as a separate disease. Healthy Prescription in the Southern Wuling District (Lingnan Weisheng Fang), in the late Song and early Yuan Dynasties, explicitly put forward the concepts of cold Zhang, hot Zhang, and lockjaw Zhang. Guidelines for Treatment of Zhang Malaria (Zhangnue Zhinan), in the Ming Dynasty, maintained that cold Zhang was equivalent to malaria, while hot Zhang and lockjaw Zhang were equivalent to cold damage, the latter of which can be treated by prescriptions for cold damage. Records on Zhang gas and Zhang disease decreased during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The Disappearance of Salmon in the Thames and the Failure of Clause 33 of Magna Carta 1215

It has been suggested Clause 33 of Magna Carta 1215 pertained to salmon and provided a legal foundation for English fishing because of the abolition of the king＇s fish-weirs. This commentary is a misunderstanding since the Clause was not intended to rectify the king or his officers＇ behavior. Besides, the disappearance offish-weirs did not come about out of concern for the fisheries themselves, but owing to the navigation of the river This mistaken interpretation regarding Magna Carta may be comfirmed by the history of salmon fishery itself, because the fish did not disappear from the river till the middle of the 19^th century. This fact is an important evidence that the clause was violated and infringed. It also shows the clause seems to have had limited effect. It is clear that the clause not only failed to keep the Thames clear for ships, but also failed to provide a legal foundation for English fishing.