Abstract
China's climate is dominated by the monsoon phenomenon, characterized by a marked seasonality of wind and rain. In summer, humid air masses from the Indian Ocean and eastern Pacific generate intense rainfall in the south and east of the country. Since its beginnings some 6 000 years ago, Chinese agriculture has followed the geographical distribution of temperature and rainfall. In particular, the monsoon was instrumental in the invention and development of irrigated rice-growing, necessary to feed a large population.
The history of China begins around 1500 BC with the advent of writing, making it possible to trace the succession of kingdoms and dynasties that shared Chinese and Tibetan territory. Dynastic transitions correspond to warlike conflicts and social vicissitudes, mentioned in numerous Chinese texts. Recent palaeographic and philological studies have made it possible to calculate indices of prosperity, taking account in particular of the abundance of harvests, as well as indices of social unrest marked by revolts and wars and punctuated by dynastic changes.
