The Ecological Thought Of Pre-Qin Confucianism And Its Enlightenment

Today the ecological problems become increasingly serious, which adversely affect the survival and development of human beings. The resolving of ecological problems depends not only on the science and technology, economic means and administrative measures, but also on the adjustment of human’s ecological awareness. The Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts are the important parts of the Pre-Qin Confucian culture. They are correct views of the ancient Chinese sages towards the relationship between human and nature. Visibly, the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts contain sobering ecological wisdom. They have very important realistic meanings in the increasingly severe ecological crisis today. We need to absorb the beneficial ingredients from the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts, and combine them with the actual situation currently, thus to realize the modernized transformation of the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts, increasingly enrich and develop the ecological theory of the Marx theory. These are main purposes of this thesis which tries to explore the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts. This paper is divided into five parts to discuss the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts and their contemporary implications:In the first part, this paper mainly gives an introduction of the background, purpose and the significance of the research. Besides, the present situation of the research both h ome and abroad, the framework and the innovation of this paper are also involved.The second part is an overview of the theoretical foundations of this research, and it mainly includes two aspects: the first one is the core of the spirit of the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts- "benevolence". "Benevolence" derives from “life”, whose ultimate goal is to serve the "life", which means “endless living” here; the second one is the philosophical foundation of the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts- "the unity of heaven and man", which embodies the Confucian view of nature of harmony and unity.The third part illustrates the main content of the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts on the basis of the classical works of Confucianism. And it chooses Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi as representatives of the Pre-Qin Confucianism. They include Confucian ecological awareness-“zhitianweitian”, Confucian ecological economy-“helouzhiyou”, Confucian ecological feelings-“leshanleshui”, Confucian ecological preservation-“gebushesu”, Mencian ecological wisdom-“renminaiwu”, Mencian ecological development-“bukeshenyong”, Mencian ecological appreciation-“niushanzhishui”, Mencian ecological preservation-“yanxinguayu”, Xunzi’s ecological practice-“tianrenxiangcan”, Xunzi’s ecological preservation-“yishijinfa”, and Xunzi’s ecological obligation-“jieyongyuyu”.The fourth part is about the contemporary enlightenment that the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts bring to us. Some beneficial suggestions have been come up with on the basis of problems emerging in the process of ecological construction, combining with the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts. First of all, the ecological value of “unity of heaven and human” should be cultivated. Second, economic development should be combined with environmental protection. Last, the consumption pattern should be established which accords with the ecological development.The fifth part is the conclusion. In the face of the increasingly serious ecological crisis, we need to use enlightenments which the Pre-Qin Confucian ecological thoughts give us to re-examine the relationship between human and nature, establish the correct view of value, development and consumption, respect for nature, love life, and make our own modest contributions to achieving the harmony between human and nature.