Water as key to understanding China

If you’re looking for an interesting read with a liquid theme over the holiday season, how about The Water Kingdom – A Secret History of China ?

It was published last summer and I noted a review in The Sunday Times.

Its author Philip Ball says “Water is a key that unlocks an extraordinary quantity of Chinese history and thought,” with such examples as:

• 4 million killed by floods covering an area as big as Britain in 1931
• 10 million killed by drought in 1876-79
• water as a weapon to drown or starve enemies
• water as the source of myths about river gods and water dragons
• the immense challenge of the Three Gorges Dam at 185 metres in height.

The power of water never ceases to amaze me.

See also The Guardian – link below.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/24/water-kingdom-secret-history-china-philip-ball-review