Literature Study On Ecofeminism

In the 20th century, ecological crisis become even more violent and feminism became prosperous. Those two phenomenon are matters of our concern and their incorporation in the 1970s leads to the ecofeminism ideological trend. Ecofeminism ideological trend is still in development and become a part of postmodern ideological trend. It criticizes the hierarchic dualism in the West, which counterpoises and distinguishes human beings and nature, sense/sociality and sensibility/naturalness, men and women. It is also against Logocentrism and modern technical reasoning and believes that the Anthropocentrism, based on human-ecology relations, and the Androcentrism, based on sexual relations, have internal consistency. The natural pillage and destroy are also internally consistent with the oppression and enslave the women got. It made these the foundation of rationality and legality. Ecofeminism combined with literature and generated the ecofeminism literary theory and literary review, which includes the connotation of female-maternity principle and ecology-life principle.If we take this spiritual core as a sign, ecofeminism literature has been in existence far before the born of ecofeminism. In a narrow sense, some female writers has begun writing by combing woman spirit and nature spirit ever since nineteenth century. Under the background of the ecological crisis in the twentieth century, female writers’ nature literature and environment literature has become a creation trend. In a general sense, the more important spiritual content of ecofeminism is to break the binary opposition, to look for the fusion of human being and nature, the blending of human being’s naturalness and human being’s socio-cultural orientation. It holds life dear and proposes the equal, comprehensive, humanitarian "Maternal Value" and organic-related, co-prosperous ecology wisdom. This kind of spirit not only exist in the twentieth century female works, but also can be seen in other types of works (both female and male). It can even be found in the traditional male-centered literature. But the narrowed ecofeminism literature cannot get its name and be accepted by the research field until the born of ecofeminism literary theory and literary criticism; while the generalized ecofeminism literature hasn’t been fully explored. Therefore, the research of ecofeminism literature is dilatant. More importantly, constructing Chinese local ecofeminism literature research study can draw lessons from the ecological aesthetics experience and bring Chinese culture’s superiority into full play. Nowadays, ecofeminism literary theory has become an eminent study in the West. But it is still in the state of beginning in China. It is less systematic, western-based and less localized. Its study objects are confined to "Nature Writing" of modern feminine writing and are lack of vision research in ecofeminism spiritual connotation. The most important spiritual connotation of ecofeminism is to break the binary opposition, to look for the fusion of human beings and nature, human naturalness and social culturalism, to care for life, and to propose equal, comprehensive, humanitarian and harmonious "matriarchal value" and organic-related, co-prosperous ecology intelligence. This kind of spiritual connotation not only exists in the 20th century feminine ecologism literature, but also can be seen in other type’s production, even in the traditional male-centered literature. Therefore, ecofeminism literature research is extensible. The construction of Chinese-based ecofeminism literature research, the rich ecologism resource in Chinese traditional culture, the theory that man is an integral part of nature, the Ife ethics Chinese philosophy, the spiritual pursuit of "Benevolence" and the value orientation of "harmonious" are all identical with the principle of ecofeminism.On one part, the relationship between female and nature, feminine principle and ecology principle, comes from the physiology-mentality feature of women. As the gender of breeding, raising and protecting life, female experience more life’s naturalness, equality, intersolubility and entirety than male. Female has more ecological survival mode. On the other part, the relationship comes from the social-cultural cultivation. Males define female’s role in reproduction as "material" and "soil" and believe that females are less reasonable, social and more close to animals and nature. The latter part has more complicate influence on "ecological" of feminine image in male-centered literature. On one side, in male-centered literature tradition, rich ecofeminism resources can be excavated. For example, the free virgin who refused marriage, the lovers who challenged the patriarchy with natural emotion, mothers who defuse fatherhood with motherhood. They brought nature, freedom, equality and harmony to male society. On the other side, the involvement of ecology character is restricted by the male centralism. Virgin defending freedom have to give up the role of being mother, females in "love alliance" usually should be the dependent. And motherhood has to be functioned within the fatherhood and obey their rule to some degree.In modern literature, the grade, rule, superior, logic/Logocentrism, western-centered, human-centered and male-centered values which are proposed by patriarchy ruling declined. The whole culture goes back to nature, caring life, cherishing emotion, proposing love and tolerance such kind of feminized and ecological value recognition. Compared with the still serious eco-crisis and still not abandoned modern "Instrument Rationality", this kind of belief is foresight. Therefore, modern ecofeminism literature’s development is not an isolated phenomenon. In fact, modern culture and modern literature, as a whole, starts showing the feature of ecological. This kind of feature is expressed as the "naturalness" of modern literature. Nature is "reenchanted" and regain the spirit. The idea of taking nature as tools of gaining resources and profits is criticized; the core belief in ecologism will be infiltrated in modern literature, such as species equality, the harmony between human beings and nature, following the natural rules and protecting natural moderation. In the second place, the relation between human naturalness/sensibility and sociality/sense will be remodified. In the 20th century, philosophy deconstructing Logocentrism and respecting irrational factors, this made other irrational purports, such as caring the sub consciousness, dream, appetency, emotion and inner conflicts. Meanwhile, the ecological and feminized values of life consciousness, equal ecology, ecology integrality, also appears in modern literature. It even became the rational foundation of literature purports in some cultural groups. Currently, this trend perform noticeably well in western literature. But there is no deny that it is identical with the genes of Chinese culture. So ecofeminism with Chinese characteristics is very likely to be well-developed in Chinese literature.