The Role of Land Management in Shaping Arid/Semi-arid Landscapes

The Case of the Catholic Church (CICM) in Western Inner Mongolia from the 1870s (Late Qing Dynasty) to the 1940s (Republic of China)

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5877126
AutoresXiaohong Zhang (0000-0002-6732-2499, Fudan University, autor de correspondencia), Tao Sun (0000-0001-5509-0988, Fudan University), Jingshu Zhang (0009-0003-6461-3877, Fudan University)
Año2009
Volumen47
Número1
Páginas24-33
Fecha de publicación2009-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGeographical Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1745-5863 • E-ISSN: 1745-5871
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1745-5871.2008.00558.x
OpenAlexW2117227059
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas3

Land management has made a strong impact on the landscapes, especially in arid environments. Based on historical data, this paper evaluates the role of Catholic churches in the shaping of the Sanshenggong area in western China in the 1870s. Sanshenggong, an arid/semi-arid region located in western Inner Mongolia, was an important Catholic region in the west Ordos Plateau after the 1870s. After the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) (CICM) obtained land from the Maharajah of Alashan Banner, the Belgian priests converted local Chinese (Hans) to Catholicism by lending land, houses and farm implements. By 1949 most people living there had been converted. As a result of intensive land management by the Catholic mission, the arid/semiarid landscape, formerly used as grazing lands, was changed to more intensive agricultural use. This case study exemplifies the practices and the important role an authoritarian religious organisation played in shaping oasis landscapes in arid and semiarid areas

Archaeology · Arid · Banner · China · Geography · Inner mongolia · Land use · Climate change and permafrost · Rangeland and Wildlife Management · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology · Ecology · Geology