Reply to the comment of Cheng et al.

We thank Cheng et al. for their interest in our paper “On linking climate to Chinese dynastic change: Spatial and temporal variations of of monsoonal rain” [1]. Our paper was written largely as a response to the suggestion made by Zhang P Z, et al. [2] that climate has a key role in affecting chapters of Chinese cultural history (e.g. the demise of the Tang, Yuan and Ming dynasties).
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On linking climate to Chinese dynastic change: Spatial and temporal variations of monsoonal rain

The causal correlation or linkage between the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) intensity and rise/fall of Chinese dynasties recently proposed by high-resolution paleoclimate reconstructions is examined in detail. Aside from many exceptions to the correlation, both instrumental and historical climate records show strong spatial variations of rainfall on annual-to-decadal scales over eastern China. The relationship between rainfall and EAM intensity also exhibits regional disparity. These observations suggest: (1) Ta...     

中国历史气候文献记录的整理及其最新的应用

概述了中国历史气候文献记录的系统采集、校定、整理工作的方法和过程,及其最终完成的《中国三千年气象记录总集》一书的内容和特点。简要介绍“中国历史气候记录检索系统”的研制,及其用于研究历史气象灾害、历史炎夏事件和历史气候年表的实例。