China's General Understanding of Nature in Ancient Dialectics

China had different understandings of "heaven", "earth" and "man" in ancient times. We talked about the relationship between man and nature from the category of "heaven and earth". In China, there are two views: "Man can conquer nature" and "the unity of man and nature". The former viewpoint played a very important role when there were many wild animals in the early days of mankind, and their survival and life were threatened. The latter view is very valuable when the living environment of human beings deteriorates and the biological resources are greatly reduced. China has long produced the idea of sustainable utilization of biological resources, and has created many experiences in scientific utilization and protection of biological resources in practice, which has made great contributions to developing China's economy and protecting the ecological environment.

Since the industrial age, the crazy occupation and predatory development of colonialists have made the possession and consumption of natural resources soar, and the demand has been increasing for a long time, which has led to serious environmental, resource and ecological crises. People just woke up from the intoxication of competing for nature and began to think again: how should human beings treat nature? How to use biological resources? In fact, these problems have been discussed for a long time in ancient China, and some of their viewpoints, propositions and practical experience are of practical significance for us to reflect on the crisis and strengthen the protection of the environment and biodiversity.

I. Understanding of nature

Human understanding of nature has gone through different periods. At the earliest time, human beings themselves lived an extremely primitive life, and they didn't know what was happening around them. They are afraid of nature and think that there is a god who is in charge and arranges everything. Nature alternates day and night, seasons change, wind, snow, thunder and electricity happen from time to time, and even solar and lunar eclipses. All these are the will of God. For example, Oracle Bone Inscriptions's Oracle Bone Inscription unearthed in Shang Dynasty records: "Did the emperor make the rain last for years? The emperor ordered the rain to last for several years? " Preface to Yin Ruins Contract. This "emperor" is "God" and "God".

With the increase of productivity and interpersonal communication, people's understanding of nature has made a qualitative leap. Some people realize that nature is composed of matter, and the folk world is "everything in the world", which consists of five components: gold, wood, water, fire and earth. It is said that the soldiers cheered when they reached the suburbs of Yin and Shang Dynasties: "Diligence, fire and water are the food of the people; Jin Mu, the people are rich; The natives give birth to all things and are used by people. " (Biography of Shangshu). There is also an understanding of the natural environment, which is the "Eight Diagrams" created by Fuxi according to the legend, that is, eight symbols are named Gan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen and Dui Gua respectively, representing environmental objects such as heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain and Ze. Later, the relationship between various environments was further studied and the Zhouyi was developed. These are the earliest simple ecological thoughts of China in ancient times.

Due to the continuous development of agriculture, people's understanding of nature is more practical, and workers summarize the height of nature as "heaven" and "earth" [1]. In many cases, heaven and earth are often associated with qi. Qi in Taoism is not abstract qi, but material qi, such as weather and earth qi. "Weather" refers to climate and season. For example, the "five qi" mentioned in Shangshu refers to rain, rain, squall, cold and wind. The "six qi" mentioned in Zuo Zhuan refers to yin, yang, wind, rain, yin and light, and is an ecological factor such as light, temperature, water and qi. "Land" refers to "region" and "land", such as "farewell to Kyushu, follow the mountains and rivers, and make contributions to the soil" (Yu Gong); It also refers to topography and soil, such as "fat and high" (Huainanzi); There is also "geogas" which refers to soil water vapor, such as "when spring thaws, geogas begins to flow and the soil is reconciled; On the solstice of summer, the weather starts to get hot, the sun's spirit starts to flourish, and the soil begins to dissolve "(Fan Sheng Zhi's book). In the eyes of laborers and agronomists, "heaven and earth" is nature, and biology is the product of nature. As "Moon Order" said, "The weather drops, the atmosphere rises, the heavens and the earth are in harmony, and plants sprout". "Zhou Li" also said: "The sum of heaven and earth, the turn of the four seasons, the sum of wind and rain, the sum of yin and yang, but full of security." Obviously, the "heaven and earth" and their products-"vegetation" and "everything" here are all "nature".

2. Understanding of the relationship between man and nature

1. Understanding of the Debate on "Harmony between Man and Nature"

China had a rich understanding of the relationship between man and nature in ancient times, especially on the issue of "the unity of man and nature". The reason may be related to the different understanding of the concepts, connotations and discussion categories of "heaven", "earth" and "unity", which complicates the problem. Different people not only have different understandings of "heaven", but also the same person has many understandings. For example, Confucius said that "Heaven wants nothing" (The Analects of Confucius). Eight Shu "), this is to regard" Heaven "as" God is born with virtue, so it is better to give it ",which is the combination of morality" benevolence "and" Heaven ",and" Heaven "is just" Heaven "; What are you talking about? How to do things at four o'clock, how to do things "(Analects of Confucius. Yang Huo), this is the "day" as a day to produce all kinds of natural phenomena.

There are also various understandings of "people". Doctors understand it as a human body with flesh and blood; Agriculture regards "people" as labor force; However, in the discussion of "harmony between man and nature", people are often given different meanings, one is "sage" (the golden mean) and the other is "human monarch" (the Spring and Autumn Period). There are also some abstract "people" as "humanity" and "humanity" (the golden mean).

On the "unity", Taoism believes that people should imitate the "heaven", and the highest state of imitation is "heaven and earth coexist with me, and everything is one with me" (Zhuangzi. The Theory of Everything); Mencius's "unity" refers to the connection of destiny, humanity, morality and enlightenment, such as "those who do their best know their nature, and those who know their nature know heaven" (Mencius. Dedicated "); Dong Zhongshu's "unity" is "the feeling of heaven and man", and "heaven" dominates people; Zhang Zai's "unity" is the unity of human nature and heaven. "Sex is one of the sources of all things, and it is necessary for me to get private" (True Dream). Cheng Ming "); The Cheng brothers believe that "there is no division between heaven and man, and there is no need to combine words" (Volume 6 of the Second Cheng Suicide Letter); The physiocratic school thinks it is "the unity of heaven and man, and then the beauty of heaven and earth" (Guan Zi). Five elements ").

Although there are many concepts in the topic of "the unity of man and nature" above, it seems that it can be summarized into three categories: 1. Heaven dominates man, that is, man obeys "heaven"; 2。 Natural laws and human laws are unified; 3。 Coordinate the relationship between man and nature. It is no wonder that various factions have confused the different concepts and connotations given to them, which will cause a long and fierce debate. Limited to personal level, I dare not make a comprehensive evaluation of "harmony between man and nature" and only talk about "harmony between man and nature".

In fact, the category of "the unity of heaven and man" has already mentioned the natural world in the Book of Changes. The relationship between man and nature is a material relationship, and it is the relationship between human activities and the laws of nature [3]: "Heaven and earth feel, and everything is transformed" (Xian Gua). Biography); "Everything in heaven and earth turns into alcohol; Men and women construct essence, and everything is metaplasia "("cohesion "), which shows that everything is produced by the combination of yin and yang of heaven and earth. Yi. China's classic biography. "Gan" also said: "Husband is in harmony with heaven and earth, with the sun and the moon, with the four seasons, with ghosts and gods, with his own good and bad luck, with nature and with the day after tomorrow", indicating that human activities should conform to the laws of nature. "The Book of Changes Biography" also said: "The way to make heaven and earth is suitable for the use of heaven and earth." These expositions contain at least two meanings, that is, people are related to heaven and earth, and the law of human activities should be unified with the law of heaven and earth. In other words, it advocates adjusting the relationship between man and nature in order to achieve the unity of man and nature. This is the earliest view of "harmony between man and nature" and also the view of "harmony between man and nature". This kind of "harmony between man and nature" has its positive significance in treating nature.

2. On the ancient people's handling of the relationship between man and nature.

China people have always had two views on the relationship between nature: "Man will conquer nature" and "the unity of man and nature". The former is recognized as Xunzi's proposition, and he put forward such arguments as "the separation of heaven and man" and "controlling destiny and using it". It is true that Xunzi believes that man is the master of all things in the world, and everything is waiting for man to govern. "Everything in the universe belongs to people, and it is also after the gentleman." (Xunzi). The theory of ceremony). His student Han Fei later inherited and developed it, opposing destiny and advocating human resources. "Those who engage in it will achieve nothing" (Han Feizi. Jie Lao) "Governing the King" ("Decorating Evil") thinks that nothing is impossible as long as things are done according to the law. Later Wang Chong, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, etc. It also carried forward this idea and opposed the "theory of destiny", which had a great influence in history. Some agronomists in agriculture use this idea to guide agricultural practice, such as saying: "Although the soil is suitable, there is no shortage of manpower, and manpower can overcome the sky. What is the situation? " (University Yan Yi Department); The ancient authoritative flower-cultivating work "Flower Mirror" also said: "Try to judge by its dryness and dampness, avoid its cold and heat, and go your own way. Although it is a foreign country, the human resources can also grasp nature. " But to be clear here, Xunzi did not directly put forward the slogan of "man can conquer nature", and no one wanted to defeat "nature". People often quote the original words: "Think about nature, is it the control of things and animals? It is better to praise it from the sky than to control fate and use it? Wait from time to time, which should be timely? Because of things, which is better than recruiting people? Thinking about things or thinking about things, which is better than physics without losing it? May things live, what is the reason for things? " (Xunzi). Heaven theory) means that instead of praising heaven, it is better to master and control the changing law of heaven and serve production according to time; Instead of admiring the existence of everything, mastering its laws, promoting its growth, giving up human efforts and expecting the gift of nature, this is not in line with the real situation of the occurrence and development of things. Obviously, Xunzi advocated that people should master the laws of nature instead of conquering and conquering nature. What he said was "master your destiny and use it", not what future generations said. People understand that conquering nature is the effort of future generations. In fact, he strongly advocated the timely use of biological resources and did not abuse them. He repeatedly said: "It's time to cut down and grow, so mountains are not children, and people have more material." "When fish, turtles and loaches were pregnant, the poison didn't enter the river, didn't die, and didn't last forever ... stinky ponds, swamps, rivers and rivers were all forbidden at that time, so fish and turtles were superior and people were more useful." (Xunzi). Wang Zhipian ").

Of course, in the earliest ancient times, when the vegetation was particularly dense and there were a lot of wild animals, and when the survival and life of human beings were seriously threatened, it was also right to put forward the view that "man can conquer nature" or "conquer nature" at that historical stage, which really played a positive role in overcoming various disasters and developing agriculture and animal husbandry economy. However, when resources decrease and environmental conditions deteriorate, it is inappropriate to insist on "man can conquer nature", "conquer nature" or even "it is our task to ask for it from nature".

As for the idea of "harmony between man and nature" or "harmony between man and nature", it originated from Zhouyi. Later, the school of Yin-Yang and Five Elements and the school of emphasizing agriculture developed vigorously, and put forward that "the affairs of the sage should be entrusted to the government from time to time", and laws and penalties should be coordinated with the four-season order (Guanzi). Five elements "), asking the monarch" no way to change the weather, no reason to Jedi, no discipline to disturb the people "(Lv Chunqiu. Twelve Ji "), attaches great importance to the unity of heaven, earth and people, such as" hard work, the country will be rich "("tube. A short question "). Especially in agriculture, the idea of the unity of heaven and earth has been greatly respected and applied, and has basically become the fundamental idea guiding agricultural production. "It's natural for Fu Jia to be a man, to live in his place and raise his people." (Lv Chunqiu). Comment on the article "). The agricultural book Qi Yao Min Shu, which has the greatest influence on China's agriculture, clearly points out: "The right time, the right place and the right people are harmonious, and you get twice the result with half the effort. If you return to the Tao, you will get nothing. "The idea that heaven, earth and man are one is also the earliest ecosystem put forward in China, which is earlier and more scientific than the system put forward abroad [1]. Even Confucius and Mencius, who take "the unity of man and nature" as the core of philosophy, advocated the care and rational utilization of biological resources when dealing with reality and nature. For example, Mencius and Liang said on politics: "If you don't go against the farming season, the five grains can't win the grain; If you don't count, neither fish nor turtle can be eaten. Axe gold gets into the mountain in time, but wood can't be used. Food, fish and turtles can't be eaten, and wood can't be used, which makes the people die of health. At the beginning of the king. " (Mencius. Hui Liang Wang. Confucius also thought it was unfilial to cut down trees and kill animals at inappropriate times.

This shows that the idea of "harmony between man and nature" and "harmony between man and nature" has far-reaching influence in China. Especially in today's serious destruction of forests, extensive environmental pollution, intensified greenhouse effect, thinning of ozone layer, abnormal climate, increased disasters, expanding desertification, decreased biological resources, imbalance of ecological balance and so on. It is even more commendable to advocate the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Three. Ideas and strategies of biological resources utilization

Today, due to the increase of population and the enhancement of human activities, the number of biological resources is decreasing day by day, the environmental situation is deteriorating day by day, and the voice of "sustainable utilization of resources" is rising day by day. 1992, the Rio Declaration and 2 1 Agenda for the Century adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Brazil took "sustainable development" as the strategy and countermeasure of all countries in the world at present and in the future. In fact, our ancestors have had the idea of sustainable utilization of biological resources for thousands of years and put it into practice.

China's thoughts and actions of protecting and continuously utilizing resources can be traced back to a long time ago. It is recorded in the works of Shang Yang, a representative figure of Legalism: "When heroes were alive before, logging was used to kill animals. There were few people but many trees and many animals. Under the Yellow Emperor's heaven, there are no eggs, officials are unprepared for the people, and they can't die "(Shang Jun Shu). It can be seen that in the era of Xuanyuan Huangdi in primitive society, people noticed the lack of resources of trees and animals, so they didn't hunt small animals or find eggs to eat, and the people didn't provide materials to officials. When they die, they can't use coffins. It clearly warns people that biological resources cannot be used at will. China, like other countries in the world, has no doubt made the greatest contribution to alleviating the pressure of over-utilization of natural biological resources by turning wild animals into domestic plants and developing agriculture and animal husbandry under the condition of decreasing natural resources. In addition, our ancestors created many valuable experiences in the long-term practice of sustainable utilization of biological resources, especially wild biological resources, and some experiences still have their guiding significance today [4]

1. Be kind to all living things and maintain ecological balance;

As early as 2000 years ago, Xunzi, a great thinker and politician, mentioned: "It's good to rule by man, …… and then insects can feed each other countless times throughout their lives", pointing out that organisms maintain relative stability of each other's quantity through the food chain relationship ("feeding each other"), and only if this balance relationship is not destroyed can they be "countless". He also said: "With the right time, the right place and the right people, goods will be as muddy as springs, rivers and seas as violent as hills." (Xunzi. Rich country "). In other words, biological resources will be guaranteed by external ecological conditions and reasonably maintained by people, and will be continuously used by people like rivers. This is probably the first time to put forward the viewpoint of sustainable utilization of biological resources very clearly.

2. Maintain the ecological environment and make scientific use of biological resources according to the law of biological growth and development;

In the long-term life and production practice, it has been observed that all living things have their inherent growth and development laws, and people can only use them in the best period of biological growth and development to ensure the sustainable utilization of biological resources. Huainanzi There is a passage in the master's instruction that makes this very clear: "I don't hide the group, I don't seize the group;" Fishing does not graze, hunting does not burn forests; Jackals do not sacrifice animals, and rafts are not allowed to be distributed in the wild. The otter did not sacrifice fish, and the net was not allowed to enter the water. The eagle is disloyal, and the net cannot be stretched out in the valley; Before the vegetation falls, the axe can't enter the forest, the insect can't sting, and the field can't burn; If you are pregnant, you can't kill, you can't explore eggs; Fish can only be eaten when they are young, and they can only be eaten when they are over one year old. Therefore, vegetation is like steaming, animals are like flowing springs, and birds are like smoke, so it is caused. " Yi Zhou Shu. Wenchuan has a similar statement: "The mountain forest grows into a plant. When Kawasawa is away, he doesn't get off the net, as good as a fish and a turtle. ..... Ze can't be harmed, soil can't be lost, everything can't be lost, and the world can't be lost. " In a word, fishing is inexhaustible, hunting is not burning forest, and mastering the law of biological growth and development can make sustainable use.

3. Establish institutions and systems for managing natural resources;

In order to ensure the sustainable and rational utilization of biological resources, the national competent department has established corresponding management institutions, systems and regulations for various natural resources [4]. It is said that there was a "fishing ban" in the Xia Dynasty, which prohibited fishing at inappropriate times (see Yizhoushu). Big party "). In the Zhou Dynasty, a management organization with a fine division of labor and strict rules and regulations was established. For example, "mountain danger" means "ordering the forest to be in charge, and things are strictly forbidden"; "Tracker" is the management of hunting; Fisherman is a law governing fishing, and the fisherman is in charge of "prohibiting animals from swimming and grazing all kinds of animals" and so on. The regulations on management are quite detailed and strict. For example, in cutting down trees, it is stipulated that "all people should cut down wood within a certain period of time" (Zhou Li. Sheriff Stewart. Mountain Danger and Moon Order), "Those who move close to the mountain will die without forgiveness" (Guanzi). The Zhou dynasty also banned burning wasteland and cutting down big trees. As the supreme law stipulates: "No fire, no tree breaking ... the summer of the emperor" ("Pipe". Light and heavy articles). Later generations formulated systems and regulations to protect natural resources, such as Tian Fa in Qin Dynasty, Nine Chapters Fa in Han Dynasty and Ming Hui Dian.

It is also our ancestors who created many valuable experiences in rational utilization of biological resources and tried their best to publicize and popularize these ideas and measures, so that China has preserved rich biodiversity and raised the largest population in the world. When the world is facing the crisis of environment, resources and ecology, we should inherit and carry forward China's fine tradition of being kind to nature, live in harmony with nature, take the road of sustainable development, and make new contributions to developing China's economy and protecting the global environment.

I hope to adopt O (∩ _ ∩) O. Thank you.