From Tradition To Modernity:On Subsistence Transformation Under The Context Of Ecosystem Services For Poverty Alleviation

With the emergence of poverty and ecological problems,China,as a world economic power,has put forward the policy of “Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation”(ESPA)in recent years,which has attracted the attention of the world.The concept of ESPA has its specific historical and realistic background,and it is also an urgent requirement for social development.In order to correctly understand the connotation of ESPA and find an appropriate path of ESPA,the previous poverty alleviation theory,guiding ideology and poverty alleviation means should be sorted out comprehensively.Previously,relevant decision-makers,implementers and experts and scholars in China have made fruitful efforts from the construction of poverty alleviation theory to the selection and implementation of poverty alleviation path and means,and also obtained certain achievements.Previous relevant researches were mainly influenced by the western "modernization theory" of development economics,which advocated that developing countries and The Third World Countries should accept the advanced technology and cultural values of western developed countries,complete the transition from "tradition" to "modern",and take the road of industrialized development of developed countries.In addition,this theory was applied to China's poverty alleviation practice,and then derived relevant theoretical guidelines such as "gradient theory","industry supports agriculture","traditional-modern binary opposition",etc.,which radiated the modernization and industrialization mode of agriculture,as well as the assistance measures of "enterprise company + peasant household" model.However,the result is that the problems of poverty and ecology have not been solved fundamentally,but more social problems have arisen.Therefore,whether the theoretical thoughts of western development economics are applicable to China's national conditions,and whether they are applicable to China's agricultural development and the practice of ESPA is worth further discussion and reflection.The western development economics theory emerged after the World War II.Western developed countries take the Third World Countries and developing countries as their research objects,aiming to attract and control these countries to stand in their own camp,so as to gain a favorable position in the confrontation with the socialist camp,and even achieve the goal of world hegemony.While China is a socialist country with a long history and a multi-ethnic integration,there are essential differences between the third world countries and developing countries under the control of western developed countries.The application of development economics to China's economic development and poverty alleviation is obviously out of place.Nowadays,Chinese fourteen intensive and contiguous poverty-stricken areas are located in both minority areas and traditional agricultural areas with obvious differences in ecological and cultural systems.The country's anti-poverty policies and projects mustbe development activities in exotic cultural areas by virtue of Han Culture,and necessarily be involved in cross-national,cross-cultural and cross-regional activities.The formation,development and steady continuation of different national communities are products that community members adapt,change and utilize their ecosystems by means of their own cultures in order to satisfy the needs of their survival and procreation during a super long history.This kind of national community is called“cultural ecology” community firstly presented by Julian Steward.The “ cultural ecology” community is a relative integrated system with abilities of self-running,self-healing and self-regulating in a certain extent.It will continuously acquire materials and energy from the environment with the purpose of implementing orderly and moderate exchange and recombination by the control and moderation of its own specific information system.Every ethnicity's culture system is just this specific information system,which is driving force for maintaining the community's self-running,and also binder for net-like structure of the community.This culture system will not wantonly disturb the environment with the constraint and molding by the environment.The members' common concept not only be restrained from the ecosystem,but also can lead members to choose certain and different resource utilization modes,then gradually forms into accommodative and matched technique system and organizational system.The“cultural ecology” community just insists in this self-running procedure for constant and steady improvement and development.Of course,during the process of self-running,the community would be constantly interfered by the external factors which may give rise to relative screening,absorbing and remolding of internal cultural factors.The whole community would become stable again after the accommodation adjusted by its own culture system.Therefore,this“cultural ecology” community must have special territoriality,specific national characters,integrality,functionality and stability.The history has proven that the basic premise of the community's steady continuation and development for thousands of years is that members insist in taking the cultural system as leadership to drive its internal orderly self-running which maintains the community's stability of the internal structure.However,if the external interfered factors are too powerful to change the original resource utilization forms which are not compatible both with their ecosystem and culture system,it will have a strong impact on culture system's running function leading to the destruction of the basic structure even a serious disintegration which may bring about continuous ecological and social problems.The thesis consists of seven parts.The first part mainly expounds the negative problems left in the current poverty alleviation work,sorts out the related research and domestic and foreign dynamic literature,and then puts forward a new understanding and understanding of ESPA.The second to the fifth part,the Miaos of Huangjin Village as the research object,regard it as a complete cultural ecological community,to change the livelihood of hundreds of years for its introduction,respectively from the historybackground,ecological and cultural changes of three dimensions,in-depth analysis of the Miao village's every living change internal and external motivation and era background,proven changes before and after the two living ways of inheritance and change of relationship between,reveal their livelihoods change after the corresponding social system under the framework of poverty and ecological problems.Finally found that when the community of "cultural ecology" when facing the impact of the external force,its strength and the way not to touch the inner core structure of the community of the community culture system has the independent ability and then make the corresponding adjustment,on the basis of traditional livelihoods appropriate absorption and transformation foreign culture factor for its use,it will not hinder or disrupt within the community to run,poverty and ecological problems were not obvious.However,when external factors change or destroy the core structure of the cultural system owned by these specific regions and groups and the traditional livelihood is naturally abandoned,the self-operation within the community will be impeded,which is manifested as significant poverty and ecological problems.Especially under the guidance of western development economics theory,the agricultural modernization and industrialization development ideas formed in China,which are applied to agricultural development and poverty alleviation practice,will lead to poverty problems and ecological problems falling into a vicious circle.By combining the diachronic and synchronic research and analysis,this paper tries to dispel the myth of western developmentalism and reveal the false mask of western development economics in China's poverty alleviation and development.The sixth part,aiming at the previous discussion and research,puts forward suggestions on the future development path of poverty alleviation in Huangjin village.The last part concludes that the western industrialization development path,the western development economics theory does not apply to China's agricultural development and ESPA policy;China's ESPA policy should proceed from the national conditions,get rid of the shackles of western mainstream economic theories,and take the development road of "Ecological Civilization" with Chinese characteristics.Humans actually put themselves in varied cultural systems and ecosystems.The developing tendency of global integration structure is just emphasize that people should fully play their strengths and utilize their superior resources on the basis of acknowledgment and respect on variation and particularity among different ethnic cultures rather than transforming differences into common points,seeking common ground and reserving differences,even pursuing harmony in diversity on every ethnic culture,so as to participate in human's pluralistic-integrative and realistic grand narrative in modern times.Traditional cultures are not all dross.The development activities in poverty-stricken areas should be bottomed on absorbing and reserving the essence of traditional cultures,should be based on healthy,steady and orderly self-running of ecosystems where community members living in.And then,it tries toconsider meeting both needs of tradition and modernity but not to seek an inappropriate“alternative solution”.In view of the above,it is aimed at providing new ideas and efficient references in order to realize the ultimate goal of ESPA and promote the ecological civilization construction of modern society in China.