TY - JOUR
T1 - Swamps, lakes, rivers and elephant: a preliminary attempt towards an environmental history of the Red River Delta, C. 600-1400
AU - Li, Tana
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - This article attempted to trace the waters and animals that once existed but
disappeared into the history of the Red River Delta, and how human and climate factors
combined to make this happen between the sixth and fifteenth centuries. The human factor
is crucial in understanding the water history of the Red River Delta. It contributed significantly
to the disappearance of swamps, lakes, the building of the first state sponsored
dike, the possible changes of the course of the Red River, and the plausible origin of the
Thien Duc (Song Duong) river. It appears that human reclamation of the coast mainly
happened after the independence of Dai Viet in the tenth century, which was marked by
increasingly intensive human activities on the coast and this increased activity is testified to
by the gradual retreat of the elephants from the delta. All these changes occurred in the
eastern Red River Delta few centuries ahead of the western delta. The degradation of
natural environment in the eastern delta seems to have caused an out-migration to the
western delta between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, making it one of the most
densely populated areas in the world.
AB - This article attempted to trace the waters and animals that once existed but
disappeared into the history of the Red River Delta, and how human and climate factors
combined to make this happen between the sixth and fifteenth centuries. The human factor
is crucial in understanding the water history of the Red River Delta. It contributed significantly
to the disappearance of swamps, lakes, the building of the first state sponsored
dike, the possible changes of the course of the Red River, and the plausible origin of the
Thien Duc (Song Duong) river. It appears that human reclamation of the coast mainly
happened after the independence of Dai Viet in the tenth century, which was marked by
increasingly intensive human activities on the coast and this increased activity is testified to
by the gradual retreat of the elephants from the delta. All these changes occurred in the
eastern Red River Delta few centuries ahead of the western delta. The degradation of
natural environment in the eastern delta seems to have caused an out-migration to the
western delta between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, making it one of the most
densely populated areas in the world.
U2 - 10.1007/s12685-015-0138-6
DO - 10.1007/s12685-015-0138-6
M3 - Article
VL - 7
SP - 199
EP - 212
JO - Water History
JF - Water History
IS - 2
ER -