From Westerly to Monsoon: The National Imagination of Climate regionalization in China

Abstract

In the 1930s, on the basis of preliminary meteorological data, Chinese meteorologists began to conduct climate regionalization. However, they found that existing climate regionalization could not effectively reflect the actual climatic conditions in China, and it was difficult to realize their mission. The reason for this was that the meteorological theories at their disposal had been developed on the basis of Western climatic characteristics, in which the westerly winds tended to be the dominant factor, and China was a typical monsoon country. This paper will show that, facing this challenge, Zhu Kezhen and his colleagues did not simply accept or reject Western meteorological theories. Instead, they adopted an innovative and adaptive approach. Through in-depth research on China's climatic features, they gradually developed a set of meteorological theories more suited to the national conditions of China. Their theoretical framework places a greater emphasis on the impact of monsoons and the effect of the Tibetan Plateau, thereby partially supplanting the pre-existing Western theories. The paper highlights that the new climate regionalization map that emerged represented not only a shift from the westerly belt to the monsoon, but also encompassed the meteorologists' perception and imagination of their national space. By better understanding China's climatic conditions, meteorologists were able to provide a scientific basis for the governance and development of the nation. This process also illustrates the complex interplay between science and politics; climatology is not merely pure scientific research, it is closely related to the nation's political needs, economic development, and social progress.