Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Permissions -- Conventions -- Introductory Remarks -- Patterns -- 1 Landmarks and Time-marks -- 2 Humans v. Elephants: The Three Thousand Years War -- 3 The Great Deforestation: An Overview -- 4 The Great Deforestation: Regions and Species -- 5 War and the Logic of Short-term Advantage -- 6 Water and the Costs of System Sustainability -- Particularities -- 7 Richness to Riches: The Story of Jiaxing -- 8 Chinese Colonialism: Guizhou and the Miao -- 9 The Riddle of Longevity: Why Zunhua? -- Perceptions -- 10 Nature as Revelation -- 11 Science and Superfauna -- 12 Imperial Dogma and Personal Perspectives -- Concluding Remarks -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.