Page 158 - 《近代史研究》2022年第五期

Modern Chinese History Studies

No. 5， 2022

The CPC-led Development and Environmental Protection Initiatives in the Riverine Areas of West
Hebei Province， 1937 -1949 …………………………………………………… Cheng Sen（4）
Established studies on the environmental history of North China are preoccupied with the issue of environmental
degradation， largely neglecting the agency of people in adapting to environmental changes. Since the farm irrigation system
was introduced into West Hebei in 1727， local governments and the local people worked together to put in place distinctive
reclamation， plantation， irrigation and management rules in the riverine areas. Nevertheless， the local riverine areas
continuously shrank due to frequent flooding and ecological degradation. The CPC led all walks of society in the riverine
areas to adapt to ecological degradation there after 1937. They precipitated the ecological recovery of the riverine areas by
increasing financial and labor inputs and reforming relevant management rules. In addition， they tried to find the underlying
reasons of frequent flooding in the riverine areas and realized the interconnections of mountains， rivers， forests and riverine
areas in the environmental restoration of riverine areas. Thanks to their science-guided efforts， the local riverine areas
realized sustainable development afterwards. Thus， ecological degradation as a structural constraint should not become an
insurmountable obstacle for human agency. Studies on the environmental history in the base areas of North China should
become an integral part of the Chinese environmental history and the evolving history of CPC's conceptions on ecological
civilization.
Forage Utilization in the Animal Husbandry Industry of Inner Mongolia and Its Reform during
the Period of the Republic of China …………………………………………… Zhang Bo（20）
Ranchers in Inner Mongolia utilized forage quite differently during the period of the Republic of China. In pure
pastoral areas， nomads followed the traditional way and migrated with their herds periodically. In the agricultural areas and
pastoral farming areas， people fed their herds mainly by cutting and storing grass and utilizing crop residues. Forage trade
between farmers and herdsmen contributed to the increasing commercialization of forage. In order to modernize the local
animal husbandry industry and improve the government's control of the frontier areas， the Nationalist Government worked in
partnership with researchers to introduce new ideas on grass cutting， grass storage and grass planting and new technologies
into Inner Mongolia. Meanwhile， the Japanese also tried to reform the ways through which forage was utilized in Inner
Mongolia through the local puppet regime， with an eye to exploit the local livestock wealth. Nevertheless， most of these
initiatives fell apart due to social unrest and the warring situation. Meanwhile， these new ideas on forage utilization were
based on the experiences of western countries and the situations of inland Chinese agricultural provinces. It turned out that
they were incompatible with the social systems， the diverse modes of animal husbandry production and traditional ideas and
culture of Inner Mongolia. As a result， the modes of forage utilization and animal husbandry production in Inner Mongolia
were a mixture of old and new.

Japan's Efforts to Maintain and Expand Its Influence in Shandong Province After the Paris Peace
Conference， 1919 -1931 ……………………………………………………… Li Shaojun（33）

After the end of the Paris Peace Conference， the Japanese government urged the UK and the US governments to
“persuade” the Beijing government to negotiate with the Japanese side. By signing a treaty with the Chinese government，
the Japanese government aimed to maintain its sphere of influence in Shandong. To realize this aim， the Japanese also
competed with the British and the American in Shandong. This was the background under which the Treaty for the
Settlement of Outstanding Questions Pertaining to Shandong and its auxiliary agreements were negotiated and signed. From
its “returning the Jiaozhou Peninsula to China” to the outbreak of the September 18 Incident， the Japanese made Shandong
its economic backyard although it nominally respected the Versailles-Washington System in the Far East at the same time.
Using the huge amount of ransom the Chinese side had to pay to reclaim the Jiaoji Railway as the leverage， the Japanese
controlled the income generated by the Jiaoji Railway and eventually put it under forced occupation. The Japanese also
controlled major mineral mines， occupied large chunks of land and dominated the transportation， mining， manufacturing，
trade and finance sectors of Shandong. Neither the British nor the American could challenge the dominance of the Japanese
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