Climate Change and Chinese History : a Review of Trends, Topics, and Methods

The history of China is richly documented, and it is therefore possible to reconstruct the climatic characteristics of different historical periods using written records rather than other techniques. Historians, scientists, climatologists, and geographers have all considered climate change to explain macro-historical issues. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current research findings relating to the historical climatology of China, including the relationship between climate change and the dynastic conquest by northern nomads, wars, riots, dynastic decline, and changes in population, economy, and agriculture. This will provide a solid foundation for further developments in Chinese historical climatology.