Poetic Dwellers: A Comparative Study Of Thoreau's And Tao Yuanming's Ecological Ideas

Ecocriticism is a"green"critical current emerging in the literary field out of the worsening global ecological crises, under the influence of the surge of environmental protection movements. It is the study of the relationship between literature and nature, aiming to expose the ideological and cultural sources of ecological crises, to explore the ecological insight and wisdom embodied in literary works, so as to arouse people's ecological consciousness and realize the harmonious development between nature and man.Far apart in time, space, and writing styles, the ecological thought of Thoreau and Tao Yuanming serves as a bridge that links the West and the East. From the perspective of ecocriticism, adopting the strategies of comparison and analyzing as its major method of investigation and drawing on such critical approaches as biographical criticism and psychological criticism in the process of interpretation, the thesis explores their ecological implications embodied in their works. This thesis argues that Thoreau and Tao Yuanming have rich ecological ideas about natural ecology, spiritual ecology, and social ecology. They share the similarities of their full appreciation of nature's value, their deep respect for nature's laws, their peaceful and harmonious return to nature, their materially-simple but spiritually-rich life in nature, and their persistent cultivation of human nature. And they diverge from each other on the origin of their ecological ideas and their critique of the social realities. In the final analysis, they are two poetic dwellers.This comparative study intends not only to track the similarities and differences in their ecological thought to achieve a better understanding of Thoreau's and Tao Yuanming's works, but more importantly, to probe into the significance of their ecological ideas, so as to provide beneficial inspiration for the construction of ecological civilization and the realization of sustainable development. This research offers fresh insight into the comparative study of Thoreau and Tao Yuanming, in the hope of contributing to a more profound literary and cultural communication between the East and the West in the era of ecological crises.