Contested Environmentalisms Trees and the Making of Modern China

"Cheng Li's Contested Environmentalisms skillfully analyzes central yet heretofore underexamined tensions and ambiguities in Chinese environmentalisms, expertly drawing on diverse forms of media to demonstrate changing yet nearly constantly conflicting attitudes toward tree-planting and conservation more broadly, from the early twentieth century until today. This deeply researched book is a must-read for students and scholars of China as well as of the environmental humanities and social sciences."-Karen L. Thornber, Harvard University "Contested Environmentalismsis an utterly original, creative, and compelling study of the advent of conservationist consciousness in modern China and its entwinement with China's struggle for modernity, ideological rationale, ethnic settlement, and the natural environment throughout the twentieth century. Li takes an unusual protagonist-trees-in modern Chinese literature and uncovers a rich, fascinating, interdisciplinary and layered history of how arboreal modernity figures at the heart of China's ecological awareness and assertions. In an era of eco-consciousness and fragmenting global culture, this is a vital read."-Jing Tsu, Yale University "Cheng Li has gifted us a brilliant account of the ecological, political, economic, psychological, and aesthetic dimensions to China's ever-evolving relationship with trees. Contested Environmentalisms offers a novel perspective that will excite anyone interested in modern China. The book will also inspire scholars in fields ranging from forestry to the environmental humanities. I expect Contested Environmentalisms to provoke many robust discussions, in the classroom and beyond. A tour-de-force."-Rob Nixon, Princeton University