tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050554817776641945.post522857219253066474..comments2023-06-05T07:33:16.696-07:00Comments on The China Beat: Five Chinese Historical Events That Don’t Get Much AttentionThe China Beathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17042877198563453117noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050554817776641945.post-31925389739426547562008-03-13T13:24:00.000-07:002008-03-13T13:24:00.000-07:00Unfortunately, very little has been written about ...Unfortunately, very little has been written about the Single Whip Reforms in English. I would encourage you to start with Richard von Glahn's book "Fountain of Fortune," and that may lead you to other sources. As for Chinese silver consumption and global trade, Dennis Flynn and Arturo Giraldez have done considerable work on this topic, and you might try tracking down some of their work (both books and articles). Thanks for stopping by!The China Beathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17042877198563453117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050554817776641945.post-25285199842200408662008-03-12T10:50:00.000-07:002008-03-12T10:50:00.000-07:00Great list! Could you provide a few more suggesti...Great list! Could you provide a few more suggestions for further reading, esp on #3 about the Great Whip reform and its impact w/i China and on global trade networks?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050554817776641945.post-38733195074384365942008-03-07T15:11:00.000-08:002008-03-07T15:11:00.000-08:00This is a quite intriguing idea and it inspired me...This is a quite intriguing idea and it inspired me to take off in a different direction at Frog in a Well, "Five Events that Didn't Happen (But Might Have)."CW Hayfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12126565074769322360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050554817776641945.post-70828438206727166762008-02-21T09:42:00.000-08:002008-02-21T09:42:00.000-08:00That's a fabulous point. In addition to the things...That's a fabulous point. In addition to the things you've mentioned, these crops exacerbated silting problems, particularly in the Yangzi valley--those previous "unsuitable" areas were a bad fit for agriculture for a reason, and New World crops rapidly leached nutrients out of newly-cleared mountaintop plots. When cultivators moved on, topsoil washed downhill into the rice paddies and rivers below. This list is heavy on political events, and light on broader cultural changes, so I'm glad to see you've come up with something that raises those issues as well!The China Beathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17042877198563453117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050554817776641945.post-47317607089148828012008-02-11T16:33:00.000-08:002008-02-11T16:33:00.000-08:00How about the introduction of crops from North and...How about the introduction of crops from North and South America to China in the 16th and 17th centuries? Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and peanuts grew in areas previously thought unsuitable for agriculture, expanding arable land and providing the nutrition that helped to fuel the Qing population boom. The introduction of tobacco smoking had a more ruinous side effect: the discovery that opium when processed into a paste could similarly be smoked in a pipe, providing a quicker, more potent, and cheaper high than was possible with previous methods of ingesting the drug. Finally, where would Hunan and Sichuan cuisine be without the mighty chili pepper?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050554817776641945.post-66165284244803403262008-02-11T16:30:00.000-08:002008-02-11T16:30:00.000-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jeremiah Jennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16004730563251915583noreply@blogger.com