The Concept Of Ecological Ethics About "Huainan Zi"

"Huainan Zi" is formerly known as "Hong Lie", co-authored by Liu An who is the Huainan King of Western Han Dynasty and his hanger-on. The book involves twenty-one volumes, in which the content is much abundant and the main idea is the theory conclusion out of the early seventy years in Han Dynasty, especially the forty-year Huang-Lao Taoism in "Wen-Jing heyday ".The ideas of "Huainan Zi" are extremely rich, of which the ecological ethics has a unique value. The ecological ethics of "Huainan Zi" has a profound philosophical foundation. Its heaven-worship holds that "Tao" creates everything but not takes anything; its human nature theory believes that human is born with quietness and change after influenced by others; and its conception of heaven and man stresses on human should not force themselves to do something which varies from the law of nature. The ecological ethics of "Huainan Zi" is of a abundant connotation that everything in the world is based on the innate nature essence and all things is supposed to born equally without lowliness and nobleness, so mankind ought to embrace the nature of quietness and live with other things from beginning to end. On account of this ecological value, "Huainan Zi" has put forward the corresponding ecological moralities towards three aspects of monarchs, society and individuals, which namely means the monarch upholding the "obeying a law of nature" of virtue, good customs developing in society, individuals possessing the original nature of "no desire". In the view of Ecological-practice, the "Huainan Zi" advocates that human should not impose their own subjective will into the practice life but should follow the laws of nature, adapt to the changes of the universe, and be moderate. This is how to live harmoniously with other things from beginning to end in the world."Huainan Zi" ecological ethics has distinctive characteristics, namely the ecological values view centered on natural, the ecological ethics view centered on human-body, and the ecology Practice centered on rational consumption, resource conservation. All of them reflect the special and invaluable idea of "Huainan Zi"."Huainan Zi" ecological ethics not only inherit the values of Taoism’s Center on Nature, but also absorb the Confucianism that emphasis on human value. It also manifests the intelligence of how to deal with the relationship between people and nature and improve the environment. Ecological deterioration has become a global issue in current life, the construction of ecological civilization is even more urgent in our country. The ecological wisdom of "Huainan Zi" ecological ethics enlightens Chinese people to handle with the contradictions from the construction of ecological civilization, and solve the problem between man and environment. Meanwhile, the thinking of "Huainan Zi" on ecological ethics and practices provides lessons for cultivating eco-protection awareness of the whole society, establishing ecological moral system, and resolving the current thorny ecological problems in theoretical and practical aspects.