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Late in the 8th century, under the Tang dynasty, a local magnate led a land reclamation project on the Fujian coast that is emblematic of the encounter between the Sinitic culture of the Yellow River basin in northern China and the local cultures of the south. Later accounts say the drainage canals were undercut by a jiao, a mythological dragon-like beast that was a stand-in for the crocodiles that once inhabited the south China coast. The book uses this incident to explore the interaction between the indigenous pre-Sinitic people and culture of the Fujian coast with the Sinitic immigrants who arrived in growing numbers through the 8th century and after.
“Over the last forty years Hugh Clark has established himself as one of our most pre- eminent historians of South China. In this book he puts a lifetime of research into its most accessible form, expertly weaving together the larger history of China with a very particular story of immigration, coastal reclamation, cultural transformation, and deadly crocodiles"—Andrew Chittick, the E. Leslie Peter Professor of East Asian Humanities & History, Eckerd College, USA.
Relevant Dynastic Timeline; Preface; 1. Introduction to a Problem; 2. The Story; 3. Some Background; 4. The Sinitic Encounter and Wu Xing; 5. The Song Consolidation and Sinitic Accommodation; 6. The Ecological and Environmental Consequences; 7. Conclusions; Suggestions for Further Reading; Index