“Water,” writes Philip Ball in his latest book, “is a key that unlocks an extraordinary quantity of Chinese history and thought.” He explores how China’s relationship with its vast and often unruly rivers, such as the Yangtze, has shaped its philosophy, politics and art, and given rise to its central myths, including river gods and evil water dragons.
Devastating floods have been a regular occurrence: in 1931 up to 4m people were killed when an area the size of Britain was inundated. Lack of water and the consequent famines have proved even worse, with an estimated 10m people dying in the drought of 1876-79. Such events have not always been natural occurrences: warring factions utilised water as a weapon, manipulating rivers to drown or starve