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)

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5877126
AutoresXiaohong Zhang (0000-0002-6732-2499, Fudan University, autor correspondente), Tao Sun (0000-0001-5509-0988, Fudan University), Jingshu Zhang (0009-0003-6461-3877, Fudan University)
Ano2009
Volume47
Fascículo1
Páginas24-33
Data de publicação2009-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoGeographical Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1745-5863 • E-ISSN: 1745-5871
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1745-5871.2008.00558.x
OpenAlexW2117227059
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências 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