Abstract

This article first introduces the correlation between volcanism and global climatic abnormalities (commonly referred to as global cooling), with particular reference to the Tambora eruption in 1815. Recent case studies in China concerning this volcanic effect and climate changes in the nineteenth century are brought in to substantialize and revise some general statements previously made about China. These case studies cover various regions, including the Yangzi Delta, Yunnan, the Jiaodong Peninsula, and the North China Sea area, and examine a wide range of topics such as floods, famines, economic recession, crop patterns (including those of New World crops), and Pacific herring catches. Finally, this article provides suggestions for future studies of the Tambora effects in China and proposes to bring climate into the specific temporal span of the decline of the Qing Empire.

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