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Climate, Market And Nation: A Research On Transition Of Farming System In Shandong (1560-1960)

Posted on:2012-07-27Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:B N WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:1113330362458337Subject:Physics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
A period of cold climate domained the the area of north china for a long time after the successive large famine in late ming dynasty. Wheat is a kind of chimonophilous crop, which is different from rice. It would be good for increasing the yield of wheat if the temperature dropped in a certain limitation. According to this situtation, farmers of Shandong province increased the sowning acreage of wheat. Planting more wheat led to shortage of fertilizers for the lack of nitrogen so that farmers made the multiple cropping of nitrogen-fixing crop in a large scale to maintain the ecological balance of the soil.The large famines destroyed the normal order of agricultural sector in the period of Qianlong of Qing Dynasty. Government encouraged farmers to plant more sweet potatoes which can resist disasters in that situation. Farmers were forced to plant this crop because the other crops'yield droped. Farmers would reduce the sowning acreage of sweet potato intentionally when the normal production recovered. Although under the pressure of population, planting sweet potato was just a matter of expediency for maintaining lives for most farmers.In 1816, the abrupt climate change disordered the former normal order of production again. After a period of unstable climate, farmers had to face the climate of coldness and wetness, which lasted for nearly 60 years. They were forced to change the regional distribution of crops, reducing the planting area of drought–tolerance and thermophilic crops, while planting more ragimillet which was suitable for the climate. Meanwhile, the popularization of high-yield crops by the government got no positive echo from the farmers.The commercialization of agriculture products became the most important factor that effected the farming system in period of republic of china. On consideration of the commercialization, farmers'concept of production changed from planting crops meanly for themselves to for the market. They planted peanuts in a large scale where it was suitable for the planting, to change for food and production materials. For the balance of the ecosystem, they also planted sweet potato in a large scale. Thus, we found a new cropping system in hilly areas. Meanwhile, most farmers took wheat as their main commercialized crop in plain areas. They put wheat in the center of their cropping system, where it was suitable for planting wheat. The system accorded to both the market and the ecosysrem. Thus, farmers developped a new farming system which was low output and efficient.In 1950s, the government got the logic about how to increase agricultural products to realize industrialization. The government began to interfere agricultural sector to increase production, and finally got the power of changing the farming system by setting up cooperative society. When the power of arrangement of agricultural sector was totally controlled by the government, he vigorously promoted the transformation of the farming system. The government just wanted more grain but ingnored living condition of farmers. Such behaviors didn't increase the production of food. Insteadly, it led to the reduction of output. What was worse, it destroyed the formerly vulnerable balance of the ecosystem too.In a word, we can see that farmers had the rationality of living to adapt the abrupt climate change from the transformation of the farming system in Shandong province, in the last 400 years. They also had the rationality of development to adapt the market when the commercialization became important. In 1950s, the government's will totally covered the farmers'rational behavior, which caused the grain's reduction and ecosystem's imbalance.
Keywords/Search Tags:Farming System, Abrupt Climate Change, Market, State, the Rationality of Farmer, the New World crops
PDF Full Text Request
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