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Cited by 115Climate variability and modelsGeology and Paleoclimatology ResearchPrecipitation Measurement and Analysis

Reconstruction of Historical Climate in China: High-Resolution Precipitation Data from Qing Dynasty Archives

Open access
Ge, Q.-S., Zheng, J.-Y., Hao, Z.-X., Zhang, P.-Y., Wang, W.-C.·2005·Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
DOI 10.1175/bams-86-5-671
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Abstract

Chinese historical documents that contain descriptions of weather conditions can be used for studying climate of the past hundreds or even thousands of years. In this study, the progress of reconstructing a 273-station quantitative precipitation dataset for 1736–1911—a period when records of the depth of rain infiltration (into the ground) and snow depth (above the surface) were kept in the Yu–Xue–Fen–Cun (which is part of memos routinely sent to the emperors during the Qing Dynasty) is reported. To facilitate the rainfall reconstruction, a field program of 29 sites covering different climate regimes and soil characteristics was designed for the purpose of establishing the transfer function between the rain infiltration depth and rainfall amount, while the relation between the snow depth and snowfall is obtained using instrumental measurements of recent decades. The results of the first site at Shijiazhuang (near Beijing) are reported here. The reconstruction shows that the summer and winter precipitation during 1736–1911 were generally greater than their respective 1961–90 means. Two years with extreme summer precipitation are identified—112 mm in 1792 and 1167 mm in 1801; the latter is larger than the 998 mm in 1996, which has been the most severe one of recent decades. The long-term high-resolution quantitative data can be used to study climate variability as well as to evaluate historical climate model simulations.

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  • Many other attempts to encapsulate ongoing work review the content of studies but offer no methodological innovations, deeper reflections, or recommendations.

    “Many of the other attempts to encapsulate the ongoing work review the content of the studies but offer no methodological innovations, deeper reflections, or recommendations.7,8”

    From Climate change and Chinese history: a review of trends, topics, and methods (2015) · cites this paper as [7]

    The paper is not merely a review of other studies: its precipitation-reconstruction section describes field experiments used to establish an empirical relation between rainfall and soil penetration depth. Its OUTLOOK section also sets out a planned expansion to 28 more sites, contrary to the claim that it offers no methodological work or recommendations. The indexed passages provide no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • The historical climatology of China remains a field in its infancy.

    “Nonetheless, the historical climatology of China remains a field in its infancy.7,8”

    From Climate change and Chinese history: a review of trends, topics, and methods (2015) · cites this paper as [7]

    The Abstract describes years of work reconstructing China’s historical climate, and the Outlook describes plans to expand one precipitation dataset. Neither section assesses whether Chinese historical climatology as a whole is still in its infancy. Searches for that phrase and for descriptions of the field as early-stage or underdeveloped found no such assessment. (LLM, conf=0.72)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. China Meteorological Administration, 1981: Yearly Charts of Dryness/Wetness in China for the Last 500- Year Period (in Chinese). Sinomaps Press, 332 pp.
  2. Marks, R., 1998: It never used to snow: Climatic vari- ability and harvest yields in Late-Imperial south China, 1650-1680. Sediments of Time: Environment and Society in Chinese History, T. Liu, and M. Elvin, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 411-448.
  3. Ren, H., Y. Guo, R. Sun, Z. Wei, Y. Zhang, and K. Yang, 1985: Experimentation of rain infiltration and calculation of groundwater recharge in Nangong, North China plain (in Chinese). Water Balance in the North China Plain and Water Transfer from South to North, D. Zuo et al., Eds., Science Press, 113-121.
  4. Climate since A.D. 1500, R. Bradley and P. Jones, Eds., Routledge, 210-223.
  5. Zhao, Z., 1999: Summer Floods and Drought in China and Environmental Background (in Chinese). Meteo- rological Press, 297 pp.

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Authors
Ge, Q.-S., Zheng, J.-Y., Hao, Z.-X., Zhang, P.-Y., & Wang, W.-C.
Affiliations
State University of New York (US)
Corresponding author
Wang, W.-C.
ORCID
Venue
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Published
2005-05
Volume
86
Issue
5
Pages
671-680
ISSN
  • 0003-0007 (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-0477
DOI
10.1175/bams-86-5-671
OpenAlex
W2103569044
Cited by
115
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 7
FWCI
4.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (publishedVersion)
  • Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS Institutional Repository (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (40331013)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Precipitation Measurement and Analysis
Keywords
historical climate reconstruction, Qing dynasty, precipitation reconstruction, snow depth, snowfall, transfer function, heavy rainfall, summer precipitation, winter precipitation, climate variability, Shijiazhuang

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