'The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China'

Review by Bill Doughty

"There are two big problems with water in China today. There is not enough of it to go around, and it is often so foul that no one can use it anyway."

So says author Philip Ball in "The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China" (University of Chicago Press, 2017).

What does this mean for China's future, and how will the Chinese people react?

Most of all, how could this happen in a country that has literally worshipped nature in general and water in particular?

Daoists respect the environment. Buddhists revere life. Followers of Confucius see the interconnectedness of ecology. Ancient Chinese wisdom says, "When water in uncontaminated, men's hearts are upright. When water is pure the people's hearts are at ease."

Ball shows the beautiful symmetry of the character for water, "shui."

He examines language as well as literature, politics and paintings over time, including in works by artists such as Ma Yuan, Shitao, Xia Gui, Fu Baoshi and Liu Wei. 

"The Water Kingdom" teaches readers about ancient stories of Chinese deities, goddesses and, yes, dragons. 

"Dragons are associated with water all over South East Asia. They were linked to rivers, to rain and to rainbows, which were sometimes depicted with a monstrous dragon's head at each end. Spring pools are often called dragon pools, and many have dragon temples on their shores: such veneration is respected. Dragons, like rivers, were also symbols of fertility, both for crops and for humans."

We get a deep dive into the meaning of water in China over the centuries – in mythology, in art, in survival and in military warfare. Water and naval battles played a pivotal role in the changing of dynasties, including for and against the Mongols, with Zheng/Koxinga, and against the British in the Opium Wars.

For military historians, this book examines the weapons/platforms, strategies/tactics, and people/waterways who waged naval warfare over time.

We see water's role, including as a weapon, not only in ancient times but also in World War II – including in the rise of the Communists as Mao and the People's Liberation Army fought the Western-backed Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang nationalists.

This Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image, acquired May 21, 2000, shows part of the Yangtze River in China, including the Wu Gorge, the middle of the three gorges. In this false-color image, red represents vegetated land surface and the light blue ribbon of pixels running left to right is the Yangtze River. Blue-green pixels show exposed land surfaces. The lift-out yellow box is the site of the Three Gorges Dam. DVIDS

But Communists under Mao Tse Tung saw nature as an enemy, according to Ball.

The Communists believed in taming and controlling nature rather than preserving it. "Man must use natural science to understand, conquer and change nature and thus attain freedom from nature," Mao said.

According to Ball, "The wanton environmental destruction of the Mao era was made all the worse by the urgency with which it was pursued."

 A burgeoning population, urbanization, industrialization – along with climate change – have only exacerbated the problems in China's lakes, rivers and streams.

"All of China's watersheds, and almost half of its water sources are now badly polluted by fertilizers, pesticides and heavy metals from mining and industry," according to Ball.

Lake Baiyandian is just one of the lakes getting smaller and becoming polluted:

ASTER 2002 images show dramatic flooding around Dongting Lake in Hunan province. DVIDS

"Baiyangidan, the shrinking great lake in Hebei, was once known as the Bright Pearl of northern China, a place of reeds and mist populated by mandarin ducks and wild geese. Its rich flora and fauna have provided a living for the local people, and its role in sustaining ecosystems and providing flood storage has won it the more prosaic title of the Kidney of North China. But thanks to an intake of toxins the region is now facing the prospect of kidney failure. Between 1988 and 1992, chemical and petrochemical plants and paper mills in the city of Baoding close to the lake shore discharged effluent into the waters, mixing with raw sewage from the city. Fish began to die off, and fishermen lost their livelihood. The lake water is now undrinkable."

So-called "techno fixes" such as the Grand Canal, South North Water Transfer Project and the Three Gorges Dam have had mixed results.

Dams can create their own problems, including devastating flooding. Lack of enforced regulation and an apparent ongoing lack of respect for nature is having a deadly effect, especially due to water pollution.

"All of China's waterways, and almost half of its water sources, are now badly polluted by fertilizers, pesticides and heavy metals from mining and industry. More than 300 million of its citizens live without access to safe drinking water. Even after treatment, 40 percent of the nation's water is fit only for industrial and agricultural use; a quarter of waste-treatment plants fail the quality controls. Regulation of chemical plants is very weak, and government agencies that nominally protect water quality in reality have very little power. Many of the wastewater treatment plants are ineffective; some stand idle. Thanks to contaminants such as arsenic, fluoride and toxins from untreated wastewater and leaching from landfills, a third of Chinese cities failed to meet drinking-water quality standards in 2006. Cancer rates are reported to be rising, and one leading researcher at the Chinese Academy of Science's cancer research institute says that this is because 'pollution of the environment, water and air is getting worse by the day.' Every year, it is estimated that water pollution in China produces 190 million casualties and around 60,000 fatalities."

Shitao, 1642-1707

According to Ball, China's waterways – through rivers, canals, irrigation projects, and other aspects of the hydraulic state also continue to "shape its political landscape."

The results of environmental degradation, particularly of sacred waterways, is resulting in public outcries and the rise of environmental activism. China has sanctioned and supported nongovernment organizations designed to relieve pressure and prevent mass protests. Referring to the Tiananmen revolt by students (30 years ago this month), Ball says, "There is nothing the Chinese government fears more than domestic unrest."

Will the people of China demand change?

"Some activists already sail close to the wind in their desire to see something resembling democracy emerge, in whatever form that might take – not so much because this is a fundamental right, but because it is the only way to achieve true harmony with the environment," Ball writes. He concludes, "The ancient, shared roots of both water philosophy and water management in China mean that this is an issue on which the country's leaders ignore the wishes of the people at their peril."