Many individuals and groups in China are diligently trying to find the next stage beyond rapid industrialization and unsustainable development, which brought red-hot economic growth, as well as biodiversity loss, climate upheavals, and pollution that damaged public health.

Now the goal is to create a new "ecological civilization," one that embraces the health of both ecosystems and of people. This is based in part on a critique of modernity in its scientific reductionism, mechanistic materialism, and mindless consumption that is present both in China and the West. This same effort to find corrective measures is being made in Western countries as well.

What is ecological civilization?

While ecological civilization may appear to be a government-sponsored initiative, this is not the whole story. Certainly, President Xi Jinping and other government leaders have promoted this notion. Xi, who has tried to reconcile ecological protection with economic development, proposed the theory that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

However, this idea of ecological civilization has also been broadly embraced by Chinese society, especially as a result of education. The concept has many concrete applications. Theory and practice are seen as interwoven.

There are many definitions of ecological civilization, but the most important aspiration is: Moving from unlimited economic growth that is polluting land, air, and water to an ecological civilization that cares for the well-being of both people and the planet.

From sustainability to systemic changes

This implies more than simply implementing "sustainability" or "sustainable development," although these terms and their applications are still widely referenced in China and the West. Many people are now speaking of the need for deeper transformation on all levels of society. Academics, such as Wang Zhihe, identify sustainability as "repair theory," namely, making adjustments within the existing industrial system.

In contrast, we can refer to ecological civilization as a "transformational theory," which calls for more comprehensive systemic changes, in education, politics, economics, and business. This broader vision for systemic changes has been written into China's Constitution since 2018, namely, "to promote the coordinated development of material civilization, political civilization, spiritual civilization, social civilization, and ecological civilization, and build China into a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful socialist modern power."

A larger question, then, for building an ecological civilization is: "Do we want the future of the Earth to be simply sustainable or genuinely flourishing?" The first might be described as moving into a Technozoic era where technology is a primary solution; while the second is an Ecozoic era where the resilience of ecosystems is considered indispensable to regenerative societies.

It is toward this broader shift in consciousness and conscience that the ecological civilization is beckoning for not only the Chinese, but the larger human community as well. This is not simply an idea in the abstract, but a pragmatic idea that leads to practice. This includes ecological education, economics, energy, transportation, and industry.

A paradigm shift to an anthropocosmic worldview

This implies shifting from an anthropocentric, namely human-centered, to a holistic ecocentric worldview. More specifically in a Chinese context, this requires a paradigm shift from a human dominating worldview to an "anthropocosmic" worldview where humans are situated within the cosmos and Earth. This implies a "continuity of being" where there is no radical break to depend on a God above or outside of the world, as in Western monotheism. Indeed, humans are seen as co-creators with cosmos and Earth.

Moreover, in this anthropocosmic view, humans are not independent from the world, but interdependent with the dynamic unfolding forces of nature. This is compatible with the sciences of evolution and ecology, as well as with traditional Chinese thought, which fosters an organic holism and harmony of humans with nature. From this perspective of harmony rather than domination, humans can strive to foster the health of ecosystems and of humans.

Shift in Chinese universities and academic institutions

We have been traveling to China since 1986 and have seen many changes over these past three decades. On an extended trip to China in September of 2023 we witnessed the spread of ecological civilization in academic institutions from the north to the south. The discussion of ecological civilization has clearly risen rapidly in the last few years. Every university now has departments or institutes promoting ecological civilization as a context for environmental education and training. The premier Chinese think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), has created an institute for Eco-civilization.

Encounter with Confucianism and ecological civilization in China

Our early interest in China was sparked by our teachers, Theodore (Ted) de Bary (1919–2017) and Thomas Berry (1914–2009) who traveled to China in 1948 to study Chinese language and culture, especially Confucianism. The noted Neo-Confucian scholar, Tu Weiming, has been an important teacher and collaborator in our work in Confucianism and ecology. His partnership at Harvard for the 10 conferences we organized on world religions and ecology was indispensable for the many scholars involved over three years. Moreover, he has been convening the Songshan Forum in the Yellow River valley of Henan province for the last decade focusing on Confucian responses to modern challenges.

We were also influenced by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), a Jesuit paleontologist and geologist of Earth and universe history. Teilhard did research in China from 1926–1935 and 1939–1945. He was part of the excavation project that discovered Peking Man. To continue his legacy, we directed the American Teilhard Association for 40 years. Teilhard's dynamic evolutionary thought was an inspiration for our film and book, Journey of the Universe.

Our own encounter with ecological civilization in China began in 2008 when we met Pan Yue, then vice minister of China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Two years earlier he published an article, On Socialist Ecological Civilization, which laid the foundations for this idea. He shared his publications on the importance of these traditional Chinese religions as a basis for creating an ecological culture and ethics in China. Pan was trying to encourage the development of an ecological culture as he felt it was difficult to enforce environmental laws in China without it.

Ecological civilization drawing on cultural values

A dynamic, ever-changing China is trying to rediscover its traditional cultural roots while embracing modernization and tackling environmental challenges. The Chinese are searching for social and ecological wisdom from their own traditions of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Yet they are still pursuing economic prosperity while initiating the energy transition. Clearly contradictions abound between pursuing economic growth while environmental issues continue to multiply. This is, of course, not confined to China, but is a common dilemma for humanity.

The search for ecological values from all the world's cultures has the potential to inspire diverse, but complementary perspectives on environmental ethics. This is the work we have been doing for almost 30 years. This began with our three-year research project at Harvard surveying the world's religions and their ecological perspectives with hundreds of scholars (1995–1998). There were 10 conferences held and 9 volumes published by Harvard for which we were series editors. (The Shinto volume was published in Japan.) The books on Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism have been translated and published in Chinese. Our motivation in beginning the Harvard conferences was to highlight these traditions knowing that the rapid modernization and industrialization of China with over one billion people would inevitably result in environmental degradation.

The role of Confucianism is an example of how cultural values can provide a basis for a vibrant ecological civilization in China. The revival of the teaching of Confucian texts and tradition is making this possible at present in China. Thus, there is potential for the tradition to be brought into discussions on ecology and environmental ethics.

Confucian holistic worldview and environmental ethics

While clearly Confucianism has many historical variations, cultural particularities, and national differences, there are certain central ideas and values that have spread across East Asia from China through Korea and to Japan. These ancient values constitute key elements of the tradition that have endured despite historical changes, political upheavals, and environmental deterioration.

There are major resources for contemporary environmental ethics in China as well as for an emerging global ethics. This is also the case for resources from Daoism and Buddhism and other religious traditions, including environmental knowledge of Ethnic Peoples.

Of singular importance for China is the rich cosmological worldview of Confucianism that promotes harmony of humans with nature amidst change. This is a significant perspective for seeing nature as intrinsically valuable and for understanding the role of the human in relation to natural processes as critical.

This worldview is characterized by four key elements: an anthropocosmic rather than an anthropocentric perspective; an organic holism of the continuity of being; a dynamic vitalism of material force (qi); a comprehensive ecological ethics embracing both humans and nature ("Humans and nature are one"). All these ideas from Confucianism can be further developed as a basis for building a robust ecological civilization in China.

The 12th century Neo-Confucian philosopher, Zhang Zai, wrote on the wall of his study, The Western Inscription. This exemplifies the all-embracing dimensions of identity with Heaven and Earth, and compassion for other humans. It is one of the most inclusive texts in all Confucian thought and frequently quoted. "Heaven is my father and Earth is my mother, and even such a small creature as I find an intimate place in their midst. Therefore, that which fills the universe I regard as my body and that which directs the universe I consider as my nature. All people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions. The sage identifies his character with that of Heaven and Earth, and the worthy is the most outstanding person. Even those who have no brothers or children, wives or husbands, are all my brothers who are in distress and have no one to turn to."

This inspiring text encompasses a comprehensive worldview of humans as part of a vast cosmos, emerging out of Earth's great fecundity, and completing the triad as the mind and heart of Heaven and Earth. Within this familial cosmology of the great parents giving birth to humans, their deep humaneness can be extended to other humans and biodiversity. Surely this is a basis of an anthropocosmic ethics for the well-being of future generations.

The authors is Mary Evelyn Tucker, professor at school of the Environment, Yale University.

Yang Maocuo /Editor

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Ren Qiang /Coordinator

Liu Li /Reviewer

Zhang Weiwei /Copyeditor    Tan Yujie /Image Editor

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