Study On Theory,Practice And Value About Environmental Ethics Of Ancient China

As one of the four ancient civilization countries in the world, China is a nation with a long agricultural history. Agricultural ecological environment and crop fertility have a great relationship with the prosperity and ruin of every dynasty and the living of common people. So since the ancient time, rulers, thinkers and politicians valued agricultural production a lot, and paid special attention to the nature, respecting and acclimating it, following the rule of" unity of nature and man", maintaining the prosperity between man and nature. With this background, the ancient Chinese environmental ethics theory was originated. The theory sprouted in the period of Yin and Shang dynastyies, formed in the period of Chunqiu and Zhanguo , developed in the period of Dong Han and Xi Han dynasties. Compared with western environmental ethics theory during the same period, it had the unique and advanced value.This article discusses environmental ethics theory of ancient China by the approach of theory combining with practice. This theory was based on the philosophy of "unity of nature and man", expounded in the principle of ensuring the living right of nature: in which loving and acclimating nature is emphasized while not acclimating nature negatively like animal; ensuring the living right of nature is emphasized while using nature reasonably is approved. It is not the same of human centralism theory of western tradition ethnics, the modern anthropocentric theory, animal freedom and right theory in west, biocentrism, ecocentralism and deep ecology, it has unique culture value. This paper enumerates some global environmental problems, and discusses the different environmental influence which brought by Chinese and western cultural traditions, then indicates western rational culture is the main cause of the global environmental problems.As a valuable cultural heritage, the environmental ethics of ancient China has been one of the important elements contributed greatly to the very existence of the Chinese nation and the continuity of the Chinese civilization for thousands of years. On one hand,environmental ethics tradition of ancient China has great significance in today's modernization in solving present environmental crisis that human is confronted with and keep global ecology balance and human sustainable development. Western traditional ethics is used in coordinating the relation between man and man, man and society, which shows that man depends on society. While in environmental ethics of ancient China, it also has ethics in nature, points out that man not only depends on society but also on nature, is supplement and sublimate to traditional ethics. On the other hand, environmental ethics of ancient China also has epochal limits. So according to the facts, we should reinforce the intercommunion between Chinese and western environmental ethics thoughts, absorbing the essence, abandoning the dregs, to explore new human civilization. We should protect and preserve environment by using science and technology, develop actively circulating economy, follow the trend of new industrialization, to promote mankind's sustainable development.