Forests have histories that need to be told. This examination of wood
and woodlands in East and Southeast Asia brings together case studies
from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Sumatra to explore continuities
in the history of forest management across these regions as well as
the distinctive qualities of human-forest relations within each
context. With a general introduction to forest histories in East and
Southeast Asia and a multidisciplinary set of authors, The
Cultivated Forest constructs alternative lineages of forest
knowledge that aim to transcend the frameworks imposed by colonial or
national histories. Across these regions, forests were sites of
exploitation, contestation, and ritual just as they were in Europe
and America. This volume puts studies of Asian forests into
conversation with global forest histories.
