Dikes are a fundamental form of infrastructure that shape human–water relationships. Built primarily of tamped earth, and sometimes strengthened with rocks, they hold back rising waters from human settlements. Although neither technologically sophisticated nor visually striking, their construction and maintenance demand the mobilization and coordination of large numbers of laborers. Once erected, dikes become deeply integrated into human-centered landscapes, marking the boundary between cultivated land and the waters that must be tamed. They are the front line in the seasonal contest between people and floods; a breach or overflow can be devastating to communities on the dry side. For this reason, dikes are central to understanding local societies in water-rich environments and their interactions with the state and its agents.

Jiayan Zhang’s new book examines the history of dikes on the Jianghan Plain—the northern part of the central Yangzi basin—from the late eighteenth to the early twenty-first century. It extends his earlier work on inhabitants’ responses to water disasters on the Jianghan Plain during the Qing and Republican periods, published a decade ago. Within the growing scholarship on water management and environmental history in the central Yangzi region, Zhang’s study stands out as the first English-language monograph devoted specifically to dikes.Footnote ¹ The book draws primarily on county archives, local gazetteers, and Qing memorials. In addition to these conventional sources, Zhang incorporates conversations with local residents and insights from his own upbringing along the Yangzi River.

The volume consists of ten chapters framed by an introduction and conclusion. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the classification and administration of dikes from the Qing to the People’s Republic. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on how people guarded dikes during the flood season and on annual repair work, tracing both continuities and changes across regimes. For instance, the basic principle governing the recruitment of laborers remained stable: those who benefited from a given dike were responsible for its protection (78). In the PRC era, however, urban residents were increasingly assigned to this work as well. Although dike labor remained predominantly male, Zhang also uncovers many local records documenting women’s participation.

Chapter 4 turns to people’s polders—lands reclaimed by local residents with official approval. Whereas post-1949 publications, especially local gazetteers, often portray polder directors as corrupt and exploitative, Zhang argues that many were ordinary villagers elected by their peers and committed to fulfilling their communal obligations. Chapter 5 addresses the spiritual dimension of water management, particularly water-deity worship and its relationship to official dike administration. Using the iron ox statue as a case study, Zhang suggests that Qing authorities treated such rituals as formal obligations—performative rather than efficacious—while relying on pragmatic, technical measures for flood control. He also offers a compelling discussion of the ren ding sheng tian (man can conquer nature) ideology in the Mao era. Contrary to interpretations that view this idea as a uniquely Maoist formulation linked to human hubris and environmental degradation, Zhang traces similar sentiments in nineteenth-century Qing flood-control efforts. He proposes understanding the phrase not as an assertion of domination but as a strategy to mobilize and encourage people facing overwhelming natural forces.

Chapter 6 examines land reclamation in the form of polders (yuanzi) and the attendant shrinkage of water surfaces on the Jianghan Plain. The consolidation of small polders into larger ones reduced the total length of dikes and thus lessened local maintenance burdens after the 1950s. Zhang challenges the view “that a despotic Communist state forced the local people to reclaim lakes” (210). Instead, he emphasizes population pressure and local need for arable land. Moreover, he regards some critiques of over-reclamation during the Mao era as ahistorical. But we must acknowledge that the Communist state’s mobilizational capacity and its policy of “taking grain as the key link” accelerated reclamation in ways unprecedented compared to earlier periods. Chapter 7 turns to private polders—lands reclaimed by local residents but not legally recognized. Although many of those polders obstructed floodways, they were often encouraged by lower-level governments and tolerated by higher authorities. Zhang argues that, across political regimes, the Chinese state has consistently prioritized feeding the population; thus, from the perspective of local communities, reclaiming land—legally or otherwise—was a rational survival strategy.

Chapter 8 analyzes the militarized style of labor management at dike sites and the participation of People’s Liberation Army soldiers in flood control. Zhang observes that soldiers, trained for discipline and risk, played a crucial role in reducing the incidence of major dike breaches in the PRC era. Their involvement not only strengthened dike infrastructure but also improved emergency responses during life-threatening flood situations.

Chapter 9 addresses flood-diversion zones, resettlement for water conservancy projects, and the Three Gorges Dam project. Departing from much English-language scholarship that highlights social disruption and environmental harm, Zhang underscores the dam’s positive contributions to reducing flood risk and labor burdens on the Jianghan Plain.Footnote ² He also provides an overview of the experiences of migrants displaced by reservoir construction in Henan, who resettled in the Jianghan region. Chapter 10 explores how the functioning—or malfunctioning—of the dike system shaped everyday life. Dike failures brought calamity, displacement, and death; state-led work relief offered essential support while preparing for the next flood season. Even when the dikes held, routine maintenance imposed heavy labor demands and the rainy season generated constant anxiety.

Throughout the book, Zhang compares dike work across the Qing, Republican, and PRC periods. Despite problems such as intense labor demands in the 1950s and corruption in the post-Mao era, the enhanced quality of dikes and decline in flood risk in the second half of the twentieth century inform his overall positive assessment of dike management under Communist leadership.

Overall, this is a wide-ranging study of the intertwined relationships among dikes, state authorities at multiple levels, and local communities on the Jianghan Plain over three centuries. It addresses issues ranging from the mundane materiality of dike construction to the ideological framing of human–nature relations. Given the long timespan and complexity of the topic, achieving a tightly unified structure is challenging. Like the dike system it describes, the book—though impressively rich—can feel somewhat fragmented; some restructuring could have shortened its length, smoothed its narrative flow, and made the reading experience less demanding. Nevertheless, it remains an exceptionally informative work, and I highly recommend it to students and scholars interested in the environmental history and rural society of late imperial and modern China.