In the past two decades, environmental historians have uncovered a great deal about how Chinese states and societies have transformed the natural environment. They have shown that the Chinese population from earliest times to the present has drastically changed the interactions of land, water, plants, animals, and humans, in the interests of military security, state consolidation, economic growth, and aesthetic ideals. What are the implications of this long history for China's current environmental policies? Professor Perdue will offer a few thoughts on this question, based on the research conducted by him and others.