Abstract
Analysis of 107 articles, reports and reviews appeared in the Acta Geographica Sinica (the quarterly journal of the Geographical Society of China) of 1962-1965 reveals some recent trend of the geographical research as well as a great shift of emphasis after the war.
The majority of articles are dealing with the broad field of physical geography of the land in contrast to the research before the war, when studies of the historical geography of regions were dominant. This change was probably brought about, first of all, by the influence of the geography of the U.S.S.R. immediately after the war. However, in recent years, further emphasis has been placed upon studies of the physical environment, particularly of climatic conditions of the land, which suggests the present situation of the gegraphical research in China, i.e. trying to meet the national and the social needs of contemporary China; the scientific research of land and climate which helps basically the reasonable development of land use and planning.
Further analysis of articles also reveals several major problems which Chinese geographers are challenging. One is the establishment of natural regions of the land, and it has been discussed by many geographers throughout the country. Articles concerned with climatic conditions of the land cover wide range of research from such large scaled ones as dealing with, for instance, the general circulation of the atmosphere and the solar insolation, to more detailed study of local climate. China has, as exemplified by the classical and modern records, suffered from tremendous disasters caused by frequent occurence of unusual climate, and the problem of climatic fluctuation is serious. Some researchers go as far back as the climate of the Quaternary period, treating the fluctuations of glacial development in the western mountainous region. The movement of sand dunes also offer a serious problem in the desert region.
These are some of the major problems Chinese geographers are challenging in recent years, with de-creasing number of articles which obviously embody the political and ideological use of geographical research.
