Since Evelyn Rawski first coined the term “New Qing History” in her 1996 presidential address to the Association of Asian Studies, Qing studies has led the charge placing China into the global context of early modern empires (Rawski Citation1996). In the decades since Rawski’s call to action, historians like Peter Perdue and James Millward have examined the importance of the western frontiers for the Qing state (Millward Citation2004; Perdue Citation2005). Rawski herself and a new generation of Qing scholars have turned their analytical lens to the borderlands in the Northeast and Southwest (Rawski Citation2015; Lawson Citation2017; Song Citation2018). Peter Lavelle’s new book, The Profits of Nature, places him at the forefront of this new cohort, but his focus on the new technologies employed in the agricultural development of Xinjiang also places his work at the cutting-edge of new scholarship in environmental history.
Lavelle anchors his narrative with the biography of the prominent late Qing statesman Zuo Zongtang (1812–1885), starting with his early career in his home province of Hunan. Zuo’s interest in agrarian scholarship, heavily influenced by developments in practical learning (shixue 實學), as well as evidential studies, led him to experiment with innovations in farming practices, seed varieties, and sericulture. (32) In particular, Zuo became fascinated by various works discussing plot farming and its potential to boost productivity. Zuo’s interest in agricultural technology served a double purpose. The nineteenth century saw global upheaval resulting from climate crisis, which resulted in a series of flooding, droughts, and famines around the world. At the same time, various societies around the world were dealing with the fallout from the penetration of the twin forces of capitalism and industrialization to global hinterlands. The global context of climate crisis and social upheaval coincided with escalating domestic problems in the late Qing. As Zuo’s official career stalled, his agricultural efforts had the added benefit of supplementing his income to support a growing family while he waited for an official posting. That opportunity finally opened up when the Taiping Rebellion reached Hunan in 1852. Unfortunately, the career break of a lifetime for Zuo occurred as the Qing struggled with its very survival.
