China News Agency, Beijing, August 10th: Why can Chinese culture provide a conceptual foundation for ecological civilization?

  Author Chen Lai, Dean of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Tsinghua University

  The ecological crisis has brought huge challenges to human beings, making people clearly realize that human beings are a community of life, and only by working together can their own survival be sustained.

  The environment, climate and ecology have become the problems of human survival. They are the result of the development of industrial civilization for hundreds of years and the result of the promotion of industrial development by modern Western civilization.

From an ideological and cultural point of view, the modern West regards nature as the object of human conquest, an object organized and manipulated by the category of human thinking, emphasizing that human knowledge is a force acting on nature, so it becomes possible for humans to exert force on nature .

It is difficult to establish an ecological view of nature in the natural view of modern civilization, and modern civilization cannot naturally grow ecological civilization.

  The solution of ecological problems is holistic, and cannot be solved only by the environmental protection department putting forward normative measures. It requires the overall change of society and culture.

Humans in the new era do not want to mechanically obey new environmental norms, but to rebuild the value relationship between humans and nature, fundamentally establish a cultural attitude that is friendly to nature, and build an ecological civilization.

This requires that we must return to the ecological wisdom of ancient civilizations.

The continuation of Chinese civilization for thousands of years is inseparable from its focus on environmental and ecological sustainability

  Chinese civilization has been continuous and uninterrupted for more than 5,000 years.

Due to the huge geographical space and huge population size of Chinese culture, the significance of Chinese civilization to the world is not only to provide valuable political experience for the sustainable development of human civilization, but also to provide valuable experience for human beings to face the natural environment for sustainable long-term development.

  The core of civilization is values ​​and value principles, and ecological civilization requires a corresponding value principle.

However, the values ​​of modern times, especially the propaganda of universal values ​​in the contemporary West, can no longer be the source of value for global sustainable governance.

The transformation of ecological civilization requires the transformation of values. It is worth paying attention to what resources and constructive solutions Chinese culture can provide for the transformation of such values.

  The Chinese civilization has lasted for thousands of years, which is inseparable from its focus on the sustainability of the environment and ecology.

In the "Axial Age", many documents such as "The Analects", "Mencius", "Xunzi", "Da Dai Li Ji", "Xiao Dai Li Ji", "Zhou Li" and "Guan Zi" all appeared in ancient times to maintain ecological behavior. Norm, and clearly incorporated into the normative system at that time "li", which became the basis for the relevant laws and orders of subsequent dynasties.

  Among them, the most prominent example is Mencius's "The axe will enter the mountains and forests at the right time" and "a few gules will not enter the pond."

The pre-Qin scholars are highly consistent in this regard, indicating that the Chinese civilization had a profound understanding of ecological balance more than 2,000 years ago.

These experiences in maintaining ecological balance have led Chinese civilization to summarize and refine these norms very early, that is, "in time, take in moderation, and use in moderation", which shows that Chinese civilization has formed time, moderation, moderation, and moderation at a very early stage. Balance, moderation and orderly ecological wisdom.

Compared with the unconditional attitude of seeking from the natural world, the ecological wisdom of Chinese civilization has matured very early.

Yancheng, built in the late Spring and Autumn Period, is located in today's Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. It has a history of more than 2,500 years and is still intact.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Yang Bo

The ecological meaning of "harmony between man and nature" is the overall harmony between man and nature

  However, the code of conduct for ecological protection cannot fully reflect ecological wisdom, nor can it reflect the philosophical view of nature and ecological concepts that are the basis of ecological civilization.

Various schools of Chinese culture have made various expositions on the view of nature required by ecological civilization.

  "The unity of man and nature" is a representative proposition of Chinese culture, which reflects the basic concept of Chinese civilization on the relationship between man and nature.

Its ecological significance is the overall harmony between man and nature, rather than seeing the two as split, opposite, contradictory, and conflicting.

The root of contemporary ecological culture is man's attitude towards nature, which should be transformed from exploiting and seizing nature to being close to nature and living in harmony with nature. This is the original wisdom of the "harmony between man and nature" of Chinese civilization.

  "Tao is natural" comes from Taoism, and its meaning is that Tao must conform to and follow the life state of all things.

There is also a saying in Lao Tzu, "to complement the nature of all things and not dare to do it".

It also advocates maintaining the nature and growth process of all things, and not hindering the natural process of things becoming themselves and destroying all things.

"Tao follows nature" is to remove those interventions in the natural process of all things, so that all things exist and develop in accordance with their nature, and what people have to do is to assist their development.

  "Praise the cultivation of heaven and earth" is a Confucian understanding of the relationship between heaven and earth.

"Heaven and Earth" here represents nature, and "Zan" is a counselor.

This concept is more positive than "Nature assisting all things", which means that human beings are not inactive in the face of nature, or give up everything they do, but can do something.

This "doing" is to cooperate with heaven and earth to nurture all things.

People want to obey the sky and help the sky, but man's cooperation and assistance to nature is not against nature.

  "All things are one" is a common belief in Chinese philosophy.

Zhuangzi already said that "all things and I are one", and Seng Zhao also believed that "heaven and earth have the same root with me, and all things and I are one", both of which believe that all things and I together form a whole and inseparable, including the oneness of man and nature.

This view holds that people and things constitute a life community, closely related and connected.

  "All sentient beings have Buddha-nature" affirms that human beings and all things in nature have intrinsic value.

Buddhism maintains that not only human beings have Buddha-nature, but all living beings have Buddha-nature.

Therefore, the nature theory of Chinese culture believes that everything has a good nature, so it has its meaning and value.

Buddhism also emphasizes that "all living beings are equal", so people have no privilege to dominate other species, which avoids people's arrogance to all things in nature.

Laojun Mountain in Henan.

Photo by Wang Zhongju issued by China News Agency

The ecological view of "benevolence" requires treating all things with ethical love

  "Benevolence of the people loves things" was proposed by Mencius, and its breakthrough to Confucius's theory of benevolence is that, on the one hand, it extends benevolence from self-cultivation to the political field, and on the other hand, it extends benevolence to things, and for the first time brings natural things into the scope of ethics.

  Zhuangzi said, "Loving people and things is called benevolence", but he still advocates benefiting things, not loving things.

Hui Shi said, "Love all things universally, and heaven and earth are one", linking the theory of the oneness of all things with the theory of loving all things, but did not explain the relationship between the two.

These are not as clearly expressed as Mencius.

  Confucius believed that "the benevolent love others".

Influenced by Mencius, Han Confucianism developed into "the benevolent love people and things".

Zhu Xi explained: "Love means taking it from time to time and using it with restraint." In fact, sometimes and restraint is not love, and it has not yet reached the level of ethics.

  Mencius put people and things against each other. Zhang Zai of the Song Dynasty inherited this point and proposed that "the people, my compatriots, things, and me", the people are my brothers, and all things are my friends, which requires a deeper self. understand the moral responsibilities and obligations to all things.

"Xi Ming" regards the whole of nature, including human beings, as a family. Humans should treat all things as family members, and people should be obliged to family members to all things. There is an ethical relationship between human beings and all things.

  Although the "Xi Ming" has confirmed the ethical relationship between human beings and all things in nature, and also determined the ethical responsibility of human beings to things, it is still different from Mencius's "love of things".

It was Cheng Hao who really developed the thought of Mencius.

He proposed that "the benevolent integrates the heaven, the earth and all things", using benevolence to enhance the "all things in one", and elevates the ethical attitude of "benevolent people loves things" to the Confucian ecological worldview: "The benevolent person integrates the heaven, earth and all things. For yourself, why not? If you don't have yourself, you don't have anything to do with yourself."

  This means that from the standpoint of benevolence, the oneness of man and all things means that man should regard every thing as a part of his own body, and they are closely related to himself.

People need to be fully aware of this oneness. Things are not my other, but things are self and a part of me.

With this kind of self-consciousness, people will be full of love for all things, so this is a new argument for Mencius' "love of things" theory.

The purpose of this thought is to elicit love for things, so that its moral connotation is higher than responsibility.

  Wang Yangming said: "If a husband is extremely benevolent, then heaven and earth are one body." "How can a lady look at her limbs and not love her?" To elevate "heaven and earth as one" or "all things as one" to benevolence is to derive the ethical emotion towards things. --Love.

It can be seen that the ecological view of benevolence defines the relationship between man and nature as an ethical relationship, and requires that all things be treated with ethical love.

Zhu Zi’s comment on Mencius’s “benevolence and love of things” is that “love means taking it from time to time and using it with restraint.” In fact, sometimes and restraint are just norms, not ethical love. Ren is to treat things as a part of the body and love them. .

In the ecological restoration area of ​​Sigutang mining area, Yuannan Township, Luxi County, Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, more than 3,000 mu of Gannan navel orange trees are full of fruits, and a bumper harvest is in sight.

Photo by Li Guidong issued by China News Agency

"Zebei Later" never takes a short-sighted view of life

  "Planning for the long-term, seeking for future generations" is an intergenerational ethical responsibility.

Chinese culture emphasizes "becoming the future generations", never looking at life short-sighted, and always looking at the development and use of resources in the long-term.

"The predecessors plant trees, and the later generations enjoy the shade", which is also a value of Chinese culture.

  The Chinese do not respect only oneself and not future generations, but "reserve a place of water and soil for future generations".

This is all because Chinese culture is not based on the individual at the root.

Individuals have only a limited generation, and people in Chinese culture are passed down and shared between generations.

Human life is not only the continuation of the ancestors' life, but also will continue to the descendants.

Therefore, people should not only be grateful to the ancestors of the previous generation, but also benefit future generations, and only then can the mission and responsibility of human beings be completed.

  In comparison, the existing ecological discourses are based on Western culture, and mostly resort to utilitarian and rights discourses, such as "nature has the right to exist", "animals have an inalienable right", and "the future generations have the same right to exist as the present generation". The Chinese civilization, on the other hand, pays attention to improving moral consciousness, expands the scope of morality from "people and people" to "people and things", believes that nature should not be excluded from human moral care, and establishes an ethical relationship between people and things. Relationships, Ethical Responsibilities, and Ethical Feelings.

This is the contribution of Chinese civilization to ecological values.

(Finish)

About the Author:

  Chen Lai, a famous contemporary philosopher and historian of philosophy, Dean of the Institute of Chinese Studies of Tsinghua University, the first batch of senior professors of liberal arts, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a librarian of the Central Institute of Literature and History, and a member of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council.

The academic field is the history of Chinese philosophy, and the main research directions are Confucian philosophy, Song, Yuan and Ming Qing studies and modern Confucian philosophy. He has published more than 40 monographs.

Many books and papers have been translated into English, French, Korean, etc.