Ecological Civilization is the Chinese
Wisdom and Chinese Plan
for Sustainable Development
Chunyi Wang
Man has only one earth, which we didn’t inherit from our forebears but borrowed from
our offspring. The current generation should never live on what our ancestors have
created while leaving troubles to later generations. The four great ancient civilizations
of Egypt, Babylon, India, and China all began in regions with thick forests, abundant water, and fertile soil. About 3000–4000 years ago, man established resplendent
civilizations by large rivers, including China by the Yellow River, ancient Egypt by
the Nile, ancient Babylon by the Tigris–Euphrates river system, and India by Indian
River, which have been internationally acknowledged as one of the four major civilizations. Natural disasters and human activities caused the dramatic deterioration of
ecology and sent the civilizations of ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient India
and Maya from peak to perishing. Man has only one earth and protecting it is our
common responsibility. There are many different nations, states, interest groups, religious beliefs and social systems in the world. What common interests and consensus
do we have to maintain such a world of great diversity? Ecological civilization and
sustainable development are the only way to make humans live together in harmony
and rationally choose a common future. Man and earth are a community with a shared
future, in which all countries should join hands to build ecological civilization. Major
countries in particular should fulfill their responsibilities as such.
1 The Essence of Ecological Civilization is the Harmonious
Co-Existence Between Man and Nature
A conclusion has not been reached yet on what ecological civilization is. In my
opinion, man is the main subject of ecological civilization, and the harmonious coexistence between man and nature is its essence. As far as the properties of culture and
C. Wang (B)
China Ecological Civilization Research and Promotion Association, Beijing, China
© China Environment Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 2021
J. Pan et al. (eds.), Beautiful China: 70 Years Since 1949 and 70 People’s Views
on Eco-civilization Construction, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6742-5_45
449
Wisdom and Chinese Plan
for Sustainable Development
Chunyi Wang
Man has only one earth, which we didn’t inherit from our forebears but borrowed from
our offspring. The current generation should never live on what our ancestors have
created while leaving troubles to later generations. The four great ancient civilizations
of Egypt, Babylon, India, and China all began in regions with thick forests, abundant water, and fertile soil. About 3000–4000 years ago, man established resplendent
civilizations by large rivers, including China by the Yellow River, ancient Egypt by
the Nile, ancient Babylon by the Tigris–Euphrates river system, and India by Indian
River, which have been internationally acknowledged as one of the four major civilizations. Natural disasters and human activities caused the dramatic deterioration of
ecology and sent the civilizations of ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient India
and Maya from peak to perishing. Man has only one earth and protecting it is our
common responsibility. There are many different nations, states, interest groups, religious beliefs and social systems in the world. What common interests and consensus
do we have to maintain such a world of great diversity? Ecological civilization and
sustainable development are the only way to make humans live together in harmony
and rationally choose a common future. Man and earth are a community with a shared
future, in which all countries should join hands to build ecological civilization. Major
countries in particular should fulfill their responsibilities as such.
1 The Essence of Ecological Civilization is the Harmonious
Co-Existence Between Man and Nature
A conclusion has not been reached yet on what ecological civilization is. In my
opinion, man is the main subject of ecological civilization, and the harmonious coexistence between man and nature is its essence. As far as the properties of culture and
C. Wang (B)
China Ecological Civilization Research and Promotion Association, Beijing, China
© China Environment Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 2021
J. Pan et al. (eds.), Beautiful China: 70 Years Since 1949 and 70 People’s Views
on Eco-civilization Construction, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6742-5_45
449