Paper short abstract:

Families in north China struggle to sustain healthy bodies in domestic contexts heavily reliant on coal as a source of income and energy. Everyday technologies and medical practices ameliorate the detrimental effects of coal vapour (meiqi) and soot (meiyan) on subsistence and reproduction.

Paper long abstract:

In the coal-rich Chinese province of Shanxi, atmospheric toxicity arises from industrial coal extraction, processing and energy production as smog occludes the sky and soot settles on the land. However, far from mines and plants, coal also constitutes a vital form of energy in the family home. At stoves attached to the family bed-platforms (kang) women use coal to heat and cook, while men generate income through their labour in mining-based heavy industries. This paper examines how families handle the effects of coal vapour (meiqi) and soot (meiyan) on subsistence and reproduction to sustain healthy bodies. It thereby offers an intimate domestic perspective on everyday technologies and medical practices addressing coal's life-sustaining and life-threatening powers.