Articles | Volume 17, issue 2
Clim. Past, 17, 929–950, 2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-929-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue: International methods and comparisons in climate reconstruction...
Research article 28 Apr 2021
Research article | 28 Apr 2021
Could phenological records from Chinese poems of the Tang and Song dynasties (618–1279 CE) be reliable evidence of past climate changes?
Yachen Liu et al.
Related authors
No articles found.
Xueqiong Wei, Mats Widgren, Beibei Li, Yu Ye, Xiuqi Fang, Chengpeng Zhang, and Tiexi Chen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3035–3056, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3035-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3035-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The cropland area of each administrative unit based on statistics in Scandinavia from 1690 to 1999 is allocated into 1 km grid cells. The cropland area increased from 1690 to 1950 and then decreasd in the following years, especially in southeastern Scandinavia. Comparing global datasets with this study, the spatial patterns show considerable differences. Our dataset is validated using satellite-based cropland cover data and results in previous studies.
Siying Chen, Yun Su, Xiuqi Fang, and Jia He
Clim. Past, 16, 1873–1887, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1873-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1873-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Private diaries are important sources of historical data for research on climate change. Through a case study of Yunshan Diary, authored by Bi Guo of the Yuan dynasty of China, this article demonstrates how to delve into climate information in ancient diaries, mainly including species distribution records, phenological records and daily weather descriptions. This article considers how to use these records to reconstruct climate change and extreme climatic events on various timescales.
Related subject area
Subject: Proxy Use-Development-Validation | Archive: Historical Records | Timescale: Decadal-Seasonal
Climate indices in historical climate reconstructions: a global state of the art
Central Europe, 1531–1540 CE: The driest summer decade of the past five centuries?
“Everything is scorched by the burning sun”: missionary perspectives and experiences of 19th- and early 20th-century droughts in semi-arid central Namibia
Patterns in data of extreme droughts/floods and harvest grades derived from historical documents in eastern China during 801–1910
The extreme drought of 1842 in Europe as described by both documentary data and instrumental measurements
The climate in south-east Moravia, Czech Republic, 1803–1830, based on daily weather records kept by the Reverend Šimon Hausner
The climate of Granada (southern Spain) during the first third of the 18th century (1706–1730) according to documentary sources
Extracting weather information from a plantation document
Variation of extreme drought and flood in North China revealed by document-based seasonal precipitation reconstruction for the past 300 years
300 years of hydrological records and societal responses to droughts and floods on the Pacific coast of Central America
Multi-proxy reconstructions of May–September precipitation field in China over the past 500 years
Climatic effects and impacts of the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in the Czech Lands
Endless cold: a seasonal reconstruction of temperature and precipitation in the Burgundian Low Countries during the 15th century based on documentary evidence
Observations of a stratospheric aerosol veil from a tropical volcanic eruption in December 1808: is this the Unknown ∼1809 eruption?
Documentary-derived chronologies of rainfall variability in Antigua, Lesser Antilles, 1770–1890
An underestimated record breaking event – why summer 1540 was likely warmer than 2003
Snow and weather climatic control on snow avalanche occurrence fluctuations over 50 yr in the French Alps
Climate variability in Andalusia (southern Spain) during the period 1701–1850 based on documentary sources: evaluation and comparison with climate model simulations
Spring-summer temperatures reconstructed for northern Switzerland and southwestern Germany from winter rye harvest dates, 1454–1970
David J. Nash, George C. D. Adamson, Linden Ashcroft, Martin Bauch, Chantal Camenisch, Dagomar Degroot, Joelle Gergis, Adrian Jusopović, Thomas Labbé, Kuan-Hui Elaine Lin, Sharon D. Nicholson, Qing Pei, María del Rosario Prieto, Ursula Rack, Facundo Rojas, and Sam White
Clim. Past, 17, 1273–1314, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1273-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1273-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Qualitative evidence contained within historical sources provides an important record of climate variability for periods prior to the onset of systematic meteorological data collection. Before such evidence can be used for climate reconstructions, it needs to be converted to a quantitative format. A common approach is the generation of ordinal-scale climate indices. This review, written by members of the PAGES CRIAS working group, provides a global synthesis of the use of the index approach.
Rudolf Brázdil, Petr Dobrovolný, Martin Bauch, Chantal Camenisch, Andrea Kiss, Oldřich Kotyza, Piotr Oliński, and Ladislava Řezníčková
Clim. Past, 16, 2125–2151, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2125-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2125-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Previous studies related to historical droughts in the Czech Lands showed that the summers of 1531–1540 could represent the driest summer decade of the past 500 years. To confirm this hypothesis, documentary data from central Europe were collected and presented for individual summers and complemented by maps of precipitation and drought distribution to document corresponding weather patterns and their various impacts. The main droughts occurred in 1532, 1534–1536, 1538, and particularly in 1540.
Stefan Grab and Tizian Zumthurm
Clim. Past, 16, 679–697, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-679-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-679-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Here we describe the unique nature of droughts over semi-arid central Namibia (southern Africa) between 1850 and 1920. We establish temporal shifts in the influence and impact that historical droughts had on society and the environment during this period. The paper demonstrates and argues that human experience and the associated reporting of drought events depend strongly on social, environmental, spatial, and societal developmental situations and perspectives.
Zhixin Hao, Maowei Wu, Jingyun Zheng, Jiewei Chen, Xuezhen Zhang, and Shiwei Luo
Clim. Past, 16, 101–116, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-101-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-101-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Using reconstructed extreme drought/flood chronologies and grain harvest series derived from historical documents, it is found that the frequency of reporting of extreme droughts in any subregion of eastern China was significantly associated with lower reconstructed harvests during 801–1910. The association was weak during the warm epoch of 920–1300 but strong during the cold epoch of 1310–1880, which indicates that a warm climate might weaken the impact of extreme drought on poor harvests.
Rudolf Brázdil, Gaston R. Demarée, Andrea Kiss, Petr Dobrovolný, Kateřina Chromá, Miroslav Trnka, Lukáš Dolák, Ladislava Řezníčková, Pavel Zahradníček, Danuta Limanowka, and Sylvie Jourdain
Clim. Past, 15, 1861–1884, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1861-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1861-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents analysis of the 1842 drought in Europe (except the Mediterranean) based on documentary data and instrumental records. First the meteorological background of this drought is shown (seasonal distribution of precipitation, annual variation of temperature, precipitation and drought indices, synoptic reasons) and effects of drought on water management, agriculture, and in society are described in detail with particular attention to human responses.
Rudolf Brázdil, Hubert Valášek, Kateřina Chromá, Lukáš Dolák, Ladislava Řezníčková, Monika Bělínová, Adam Valík, and Pavel Zahradníček
Clim. Past, 15, 1205–1222, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1205-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1205-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The paper analyses a weather diary of the Reverend Šimon Hausner from Buchlovice in south-east Moravia, Czech Republic, in the 1803–1831 period. From daily weather records, series of numbers of precipitation days, cloudiness, strong winds, fogs, and thunderstorms were created. These records were further used to interpret weighted temperature and precipitation indices. Records of Šimon Hausner represent an important contribution to the study of climate fluctuations on the central European scale.
Fernando S. Rodrigo
Clim. Past, 15, 647–659, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-647-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-647-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The climate of Granada (southern Spain) during the first third of the 18th century is reconstructed. Results suggest that climatic conditions were similar to those of the first decades of the 20th century, when the global warming signal was of less importance than today. In addition, the paper presents the instrumental data taken in Granada in 1729, probably the first instrumental meteorological data recorded in Spain. Some extreme events, such as the cold wave of winter 1729, are studied.
Gregory Burris, Jane Washburn, Omar Lasheen, Sophia Dorribo, James B. Elsner, and Ronald E. Doel
Clim. Past, 15, 477–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-477-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-477-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Historical documents are full of untapped data on past climate conditions. Our paper sets out a method for extracting this information into a database that is easily utilized by climate scientists. We apply this method to a document from Shirley Plantation covering the years 1816–1842. We then provide two case studies to demonstrate the validity and utility of the new method and database.
Jingyun Zheng, Yingzhuo Yu, Xuezhen Zhang, and Zhixin Hao
Clim. Past, 14, 1135–1145, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1135-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1135-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the decadal variations of extreme droughts and floods in North China using a 17-site seasonal precipitation reconstruction from a unique historical archive. Then, the link of extreme droughts and floods with ENSO episodes and large volcanic eruptions was discussed. This study helps us understand whether the recent extreme events observed by instruments exceed the natural variability at a regional scale, which may be useful for adaptation to extremes and disasters in the future.
Alvaro Guevara-Murua, Caroline A. Williams, Erica J. Hendy, and Pablo Imbach
Clim. Past, 14, 175–191, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-175-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-175-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study reconstructs a new semi-quantitative rainfall index for the Pacific coast of Central America using documentary sources for the period 1640 to 1945. In addition, we explore the various mechanisms and processes that may explain inter-annual and inter-decadal rainfall variability over the Pacific coast of Central America.
Feng Shi, Sen Zhao, Zhengtang Guo, Hugues Goosse, and Qiuzhen Yin
Clim. Past, 13, 1919–1938, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1919-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1919-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstructed the multi-proxy precipitation field for China over the past 500 years, which includes three leading modes (a monopole, a dipole, and a triple) of precipitation variability. The dipole mode may be controlled by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation variability. Such reconstruction is an essential source of information to document the climate variability over decadal to centennial timescales and can be used to assess the ability of climate models to simulate past climate change.
Rudolf Brázdil, Ladislava Řezníčková, Hubert Valášek, Lukáš Dolák, and Oldřich Kotyza
Clim. Past, 12, 1361–1374, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1361-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1361-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The paper deals with climatic and human impacts of the strong Tambora (Indonesia) volcanic eruption in April 1815 over the Czech Lands territory based on analysis of documentary data and instrumental records. While climatic effects were related particularly to summers 1815 and 1816 (1816 is known as "a Year Without Summer"), quite important were societal impacts represented after bad harvest by steep increase in prices and shortages of food.
C. Camenisch
Clim. Past, 11, 1049–1066, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1049-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1049-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This paper applies the methods of historical climatology to present a climate reconstruction for the area of the Burgundian Low Countries during the 15th century. The results are based on documentary evidence. Approximately 3000 written records derived from about 100 different sources were examined and converted into seasonal seven-degree indices of temperature and precipitation.
A. Guevara-Murua, C. A. Williams, E. J. Hendy, A. C. Rust, and K. V. Cashman
Clim. Past, 10, 1707–1722, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1707-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1707-2014, 2014
A. J. Berland, S. E. Metcalfe, and G. H. Endfield
Clim. Past, 9, 1331–1343, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1331-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1331-2013, 2013
O. Wetter and C. Pfister
Clim. Past, 9, 41–56, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-41-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-41-2013, 2013
H. Castebrunet, N. Eckert, and G. Giraud
Clim. Past, 8, 855–875, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-855-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-855-2012, 2012
F. S. Rodrigo, J. J. Gómez-Navarro, and J. P. Montávez Gómez
Clim. Past, 8, 117–133, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-117-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-117-2012, 2012
O. Wetter and C. Pfister
Clim. Past, 7, 1307–1326, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1307-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1307-2011, 2011
Cited articles
Ahmed, M., Anchukaitis, K. J., Asrat, A., Borgaonkar, H. P., Braida, M., Buckley, B. M., Buntgen, U., Chase, B. M., Christie, D. A., Cook, E. R., Curran, M. A. J., Diaz, H. F., Esper, J., Fan, Z. X., Gaire, N. P., Ge, Q. S., Gergis, J., Gonzalez-Rouco, J. F., Goosse, H., Grab, S. W., Graham, N., Graham, R., Grosjean, M., Hanhijarvi, S. T., Kaufman, D. S., Kiefer, T., Kimura, K., Korhola, A. A., Krusic, P. J., Lara, A., Lezine, A. M., Ljungqvist, F. C., Lorrey, A. M., Luterbacher, J., Masson-Delmotte, V., McCarroll, D., McConnell, J. R., McKay, N. P., Morales, M. S., Moy, A. D., Mulvaney, R., Mundo, I. A., Nakatsuka, T., Nash, D. J., Neukom, R., Nicholson, S. E., Oerter, H., Palmer, J. G., Phipps, S. J., Prieto, M. R., Rivera, A., Sano, M., Severi, M., Shanahan, T. M., Shao, X. M., Shi, F., Sigl, M., Smerdon, J. E., Solomina, O. N., Steig, E. J., Stenni, B., Thamban, M., Trouet, V., Turney, C. S. M., Umer, M., van Ommen, T., Verschuren, D., Viau, A. E., Villalba, R., Vinther, B. M., von Gunten, L., Wagner, S., Wahl, E. R., Wanner, H., Werner, J. P., White, J. W. C., Yasue, K., and Zorita, E.:
Continental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia,
Nat. Geosci.,
6, 339–346, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1797, 2013.
Brázdil, R., Možný, M., Klír, T., Řezníčková, L., Trnka, M., Dobrovolný, P., and KotyzaIch, O.:
Climate variability and changes in the agricultural cycle in the Czech Lands from the sixteenth century to the present,
Theor. Appl. Climatol.,
136, 553–573, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-018-2508-3, 2018.
China Meteorological Data Service Center: Dataset of daily climate data from Chinese surface stations for global exchange (V3.0), available at:
http://data.cma.cn/en/?r=data/detail&dataCode=SURF_CLI_CHN_MUL_DAY_CES_V3.0, last access: 19 April 2021.
Chuine, I., Yiou, P., Viovy, N., Seguin, B., Daux, V., and Ladurie, E. L. R.:
Historical phenology: grape ripening as a past climate indicator,
Nature,
432, 289–290, https://doi.org/10.1038/432289a, 2004.
Daux, V., Garcia de Cortazar-Atauri, I., Yiou, P., Chuine, I., Garnier, E., Le Roy Ladurie, E., Mestre, O., and Tardaguila, J.: An open-access database of grape harvest dates for climate research: data description and quality assessment, Clim. Past, 8, 1403–1418, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1403-2012, 2012.
Etien, N., Daux, V., Masson-Delmotte, V., Stievenard, M., Bernard, V., Durost, S., Guillemin, M. T., Mestre, O., and Pierre, M.: A bi-proxy reconstruction of Fontainebleau (France) growing season temperature from A.D. 1596 to 2000, Clim. Past, 4, 91–106, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-4-91-2008, 2008.
Fang, X., Su, Y., Wei, Z., and Yin, J.:
Social impacts of climate change in historical China,
in: Socio-Environmental Dynamics along the Historical Silk Road,
edited by: Yang, L. E., Bork, H.-R., Fang, X., and Mischke, S.,
Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 231–245, 2019.
Fei, J., Hou, Y., Liu, X., An, Z., and Wang, S.:
Fluctuation characteristics of climatic change in temperature of Tang Dynasty based on historical document records in south Loess Plateau,
Collections of Essays on Chinese Historical Geography,
16, 74–81, https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1001-5205.2001.04.013, 2001 (in Chinese).
Ge, Q., Hao, Z., Zheng, J., and Shao, X.: Temperature changes over the past 2000 yr in China and comparison with the Northern Hemisphere, Clim. Past, 9, 1153–1160, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1153-2013, 2013.
Ge, Q., Wang, H., Rutishauser, T., and Dai, J.:
Phenological response to climate change in China: a meta-analysis,
Glob. Change Biol.,
21, 265–274, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12648, 2015.
Ge, Q., Hao, Z., Zheng, J., and Liu, Y.:
China: 2000 years of climate reconstruction from historical documents,
in: The Palgrave Handbook of Climate History,
edited by: White, S., Pfister, C., and Mauelshagen, F.,
Springer, Basingstoke, UK, 189–201, 2018.
Labbé, T., Pfister, C., Brönnimann, S., Rousseau, D., Franke, J., and Bois, B.: The longest homogeneous series of grape harvest dates, Beaune 1354–2018, and its significance for the understanding of past and present climate, Clim. Past, 15, 1485–1501, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1485-2019, 2019.
Man, Z.:
Climate in Tang Dynasty of China: discussion for its evidence,
Quaternary Sciences,
1, 20–30, 1998 (in Chinese).
Možný, M., Brázdil, R., Dobrovolný, P., and Trnka, M.: April–August temperatures in the Czech Lands, 1499–2015, reconstructed from grape-harvest dates, Clim. Past, 12, 1421–1434, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1421-2016, 2016.
National Earth System Science Data Center:
Observation data of typical plant phenology at Xi'an site of China Phenology Observation Network, available at: http://www.geodata.cn/data/datadetails.html?dataguid=5881257&docid=19673, last access: 9 November 2020 (in Chinese).
Schwartz, M. D.:
Phenology: an integrative environmental science,
Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, 2003.
Thompson, L. G., Yao, T., Davis, M. E., Mosley-Thompson, E., Mashiotta, T. A., Lin, P.-N., Mikhalenko, V. N., and Zagorodnov, V. S.:
Holocene climate variability archived in the Puruogangri ice cap on the central Tibetan Plateau,
Ann. Glaciol.,
43, 61–69, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756406781812357, 2006.
Wetter, O. and Pfister, C.: Spring-summer temperatures reconstructed for northern Switzerland and southwestern Germany from winter rye harvest dates, 1454–1970, Clim. Past, 7, 1307–1326, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1307-2011, 2011.
Zhang, Y., Shao, X. M., Yin, Z.-Y., and Wang, Y.: Millennial minimum temperature variations in the Qilian Mountains, China: evidence from tree rings, Clim. Past, 10, 1763–1778, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1763-2014, 2014.
Short summary
There are controversies about whether poetry can be used as one of the evidence sources for past climate changes. We tried to discuss the reliability and validity of phenological records from poems of the Tang and Song dynasties (618–1279 CE) by analyzing their certainties and uncertainties. A standardized processing method for phenological records from poems is introduced. We hope that this study can provide a reference for the extraction and application of phenological records from poems.
There are controversies about whether poetry can be used as one of the evidence sources for past...