The East Asian World-System: Climate and Dynastic Change

Author:
Eugene N. Anderson

Publisher:
Springer

Publication date:
June 2019

Abstract:
This book studies the East Asian world-system and its dynastic cycles as they were influenced by climate and demographic change, diseases, the expansion of trade, and the rise of science and technology. By studying the history of East Asia until the beginning of the 20th century and offering a comparative perspective on East Asian countries, including China, Japan and Korea, it describes the historical evolution of the East Asian world-system as being the result of good or poor management of the respective populations and environments. Lastly, the book discusses how the East Asian regions have become integrated into a single world-system by a combination of trade, commerce, and military action. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars of history, sociology, political science and environmental studies, and to anyone interested in learning about the effects of climate change on the dynamic development of societies. 

Table of Contents:

Theoretical Overview

Cycles and Cycling

Before Empire: State Formation in China and Proto-states Elsewhere

The Creation of Stable Dynastic Empires in East and Southeast Asia

High Empire: The Glory Days of Early Medieval Eastern Asia

The Rise of Central Asia: 
Coastal Golden Ages Increasingly Threatened by Conquest Dynasties from the Deep Interior

The Mongol Conquests of China and Korea and Invasion of Japan

Long-Lived Dynasties: Ming and Its Contemporaries

The Early Modern Period in the East Asian World-System

Lessons: Factors Driving the Rise and Fall of Dynasties

Comparisons: Cycles and Empires in Agrarian Worlds

What East Asia’s Dynamics Teach Us about Climate, Society, and Change in the Modern and Future World