It is written and published in 2004 by a well-known Australian professor - Mark Elvin, specialized in Chinese economic, cultural and environmental history. Chinese environmental history is relatively late not only compared to the development of other categories of Chinese historiography, but also compared to Western environmental history. Mark Elvin gave a relatively concrete definition of "environmental history", stating that "[it] in the sense used here is limited to the period for which there is documentary evidence that gives us access to how men and women thought." Its theme is the changing relationship between people and the biological, chemical, and geological systems that have sustained and threatened them in complex ways. Specifically: climates, rocks and minerals, soils, water, trees and plants, animals and birds, insects and, at the base of almost everything, microbes. All of these are, in various ways, vital friends and, at times, lethal enemies. Technologies, economies, social and political institutions, as well as beliefs, perceptions, knowledge and representations continuously interacted with this natural context.' (P.XX) In other words, environmental history is inseparable from any kind of human history. The environment and man are complementary in forming history, but sometimes they contradict each other. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayIn this book, Mark Elvin is trying to illustrate the relationship between the retreat path of elephants and human activities. He built it in three sections, including “Patterns,” “Particularities,” and “Perceptions.” The first part would be relatively descriptive and factual information about the changing course of elephants from northern China, today better known as Beijing as the capital, gradually retreating both southward and westward, covering a three thousand year period of history. The second part contained three case studies in Jiaxing, Guizhou, and Zunhua, which went through a similar pattern of change, even though they were characteristically and geographically different from each other. In the third section, an analysis of the Chinese people's perception and way of thinking towards the environment will be addressed. Last but not least, a brief conclusion would be drawn to stimulate discussion on the degree of environmental pressure exerted by China in confrontation with the West in the 18th century. In the following essay, the main topics will be summarized along with the three sections outlined. As for the first part, “Models,” Mark Elvin issued a matter-of-fact sentence: “Chinese farmers and elephants don’t mix.” (P.9) there are six chapters in total that make up the first part. In the first two chapters, a geographical and chronological framework is constructed to illustrate that elephants made their appearance throughout China, and not just in space and time, a few thousand years ago. However, from time to time the elephants continually retreat to the southwest area. He admitted that downward climate change cannot be ignored to explain such a phenomenon. However, it then raised the question: Why did the number of elephants that retreated southward due to climate change fail to return to the same numbers as before when the climate returned to normal? The influence of civilization practiced by humans is then brought as a main topic in subsequent chapters. As elephants retreated southward and westward, the expansion of human settlement and civilization, as well as the intensification of agricultural development, simultaneously dominated the elephants' original livelihood. Elvin set forth three models of human domination over the livelihood of the elephant. First of all, deforestationaimed at agricultural expansion. The cultivation of crops is essential for the self-sustaining of human settlements and civilization. While the population has been increasing for centuries, the demand for flat land for agricultural purposes has also increased, so much so that deforestation has begun to be practiced. Deforestation has appeared not only due to agricultural expansion but also to support economic development, such as the production of fuel for heating, cooking and industrial purposes, while a continued demand for timber for infrastructure use in construction, shipbuilding or bridge repair, etc. It has generated various problems towards the environment as the chemical components of insecticides present on agriculture pollute the soil, creating an irreversible environmental problem to this day and in the future. Furthermore, deforestation would change the ecological system, therefore flooding would occur in the lower plains or in villages near rivers. Secondly, elephants were hunted by farmers to avoid losses and property damage caused by elephants. Some people raided elephants for ivory and trunk to gain benefits, while others domesticated elephants for war or transportation use. Regardless of the sector of human activities involved, most of them have proven fatal to elephant habitat and their way of life. As for the second part, "Particularities", Mark Elvin put the spotlight on three completely diversified regions, including Jiaxing the one located in the Yangzi River Delta, Guizhou the one located in the southwestern region and Zunhua the one located in the northern area -oriental. Mark Elvin carried out research on the average lifespan of women in these regions. The research found that women in the Zunhua wilderness area have the highest average life expectancy compared to women in Jiaxing and Guizhou. They shared double the average lifespan with Jiaxing Province (the population normally lived for 18-24 years from around 1800 AD) and a third of Guizhou Province. In Zunhua, they had a mixed agricultural lifestyle growing crops and raising livestock, which could be seen as ecological and sustainable development. Compared to Jiaxing Province, the lands are completely used for agricultural purposes, so much so that “there was virtually no environmental resilience left in the system.” (P.203) So, Mark Elvin is trying to say that sustainable form of agricultural development is essential for the improvement of human life. After providing us with descriptive, valid and concrete arguments in the first two sections, Mark Elvin is trying to stimulate discussion in the next section, "Perceptions", by focusing on how Chinese people perceive and interpret the environment. Elvin replied, “Over the course of more than three thousand years, the Chinese have reshaped China.” They cut down the forests and the original plant cover, terraced the hillsides and divided the valley floors into fields.' (P.321) The Chinese considered themselves part of nature and the environment, however, they unhesitatingly reshaped it in response to their political, economic, martial, or other goals to improve their way of life. Chinese literati could illustrate their passion for individual trees, but compose hatred towards forests. Elvin suggested how and why the Chinese viewed the environment in this way with the connection of traditional Chinese cultures and norms. The “Concluding Remarks” came to an end to conclude his arguments and identify all the arguments he raised. Elvin compared late imperial China to northwestern Europe to gauge the pressures both exerted on the environment. He then suggested that “the Chinese environment.