Climate Regionalization in China: A Historical Perspective on Scientific Development and National Building

Abstract

This study explores China’s climate regionalization as a scientific practice that universalizes local knowledge to advance modernization. By analyzing how scientists like Zhu Kezhen adapted international classification systems to reconcile universal standards with indigenous traditions, the research shows climate regionalization as both a tool for scientific knowledge production and a means to align local knowledge with global science. By endowing natural and cultural boundaries (e.g., the Qinling-Huaihe Line) with scientific significance, scientists embedded climate regionalization within geographical and nation building initiatives, a process that ultimately ushered climatology research toward maturity and autonomy. This process of scientizing local knowledge not only shaped national science, but also positioned climate regionalization at the intersection of scientific practice, knowledge universalization, and nation-building.