Introduction

Western writings on China have always been dominated by social perspectives as anthropologists, economists, ethnographers, historians, journalists, linguists and students of military and political affairs provided a wealth of interpretations ranging from overzealous ephemera produced by instant experts to balanced and well-argued exposés authored by long-time observers with deep and nuanced understanding of the country. As a natural scientist with a keen interest in history and politics I enjoyed reading many surveys, appraisals and forecasts that were reevaluating China’s achievements and prospects during the early 1970s. But every society is created by a complex interplay of natural and human factors – and I felt that some fundamental perspectives concerning China’s biophysical foundations were covered only marginally or that they were entirely absent.