Ecological Civilization in a Historical Perspective
551
The second crisis happened after the middle of the Qing Dynasty. During the
Ming and Qing dynasties, Chinese population increased steadily and reached 430
million before the Opium War. The plains were so populous that many vagrants went
to live in deep mountains, where they felled forests and reclaimed wasteland blindly.
As a result, forests decreased, water and soil was eroded, rocks laid bare, water
systems in the plains were disrupted, general ecological environment deteriorated
and water and drought disasters took place more frequently. The relation among
environment, economy and society lost balance, and the development pattern from
population (labor force) increase to farming area expansion to economic growth
came to an end. Against such a backdrop, men of vision pointed out the origin
of natural disasters, emphasized the importance of protecting mountains and lakes,
and even proposed to control population. The central and local governments rolled
out many policies and measures to prohibit reclamation and hunting and encourage
afforestation, and community rules and regulations were released to protect forests,
ban hunting and limit reclamation, yet all failing to curb environmental degradation.
In the nineteenth century, China was faced with sluggish economy, constant famines,
chronic poverty and weakness and ordinary people living on the line of starvation.
Seizing this moment, western colonialists bombed open China’s gate with gunboats,
plunging the Chinese nation into a miserable abyss of internal and external troubles
and the once world-leading Chinese civilization to a historical rock bottom.
The national crisis of contemporary China was of course the result of a full array
of factors, but the ecological dilemma resulting from the traditional production mode,
including environmental degradation and resource scarcity, was an important reason.
Therefore, an important precondition for the rejuvenation of Chinese civilization is
to comprehensively adjust the relation between man and nature and step out of
the economic crisis and ecological dilemma that have taken form over long years.
Ecological civilization is not just a decision for realistic development, but also a call
of history. It is the only path to the all-round rejuvenation of Chinese civilization,
carrying with it immense historical significance and powerful innate momentum.
3 Understanding Ecological Civilization
from the Perspective of the 100-Year-Long Struggles
of the Communist Party of China
After the Opium War broke out, China was forced to face strong enemies and tremendous changes never seen in its thousands-of-years-long history. When the country
was afflicted by internal strife and external humiliation, worsening environment and
constant disasters, countless patriots sought up and down despite bewilderments and
setbacks for a way to save the nation from misery and subjugation and lead it to
revival. Under the wise leadership of the CPC, Chinese people fought fearlessly
against foreign aggression regardless of injuries and deaths, and eventually founded
551
The second crisis happened after the middle of the Qing Dynasty. During the
Ming and Qing dynasties, Chinese population increased steadily and reached 430
million before the Opium War. The plains were so populous that many vagrants went
to live in deep mountains, where they felled forests and reclaimed wasteland blindly.
As a result, forests decreased, water and soil was eroded, rocks laid bare, water
systems in the plains were disrupted, general ecological environment deteriorated
and water and drought disasters took place more frequently. The relation among
environment, economy and society lost balance, and the development pattern from
population (labor force) increase to farming area expansion to economic growth
came to an end. Against such a backdrop, men of vision pointed out the origin
of natural disasters, emphasized the importance of protecting mountains and lakes,
and even proposed to control population. The central and local governments rolled
out many policies and measures to prohibit reclamation and hunting and encourage
afforestation, and community rules and regulations were released to protect forests,
ban hunting and limit reclamation, yet all failing to curb environmental degradation.
In the nineteenth century, China was faced with sluggish economy, constant famines,
chronic poverty and weakness and ordinary people living on the line of starvation.
Seizing this moment, western colonialists bombed open China’s gate with gunboats,
plunging the Chinese nation into a miserable abyss of internal and external troubles
and the once world-leading Chinese civilization to a historical rock bottom.
The national crisis of contemporary China was of course the result of a full array
of factors, but the ecological dilemma resulting from the traditional production mode,
including environmental degradation and resource scarcity, was an important reason.
Therefore, an important precondition for the rejuvenation of Chinese civilization is
to comprehensively adjust the relation between man and nature and step out of
the economic crisis and ecological dilemma that have taken form over long years.
Ecological civilization is not just a decision for realistic development, but also a call
of history. It is the only path to the all-round rejuvenation of Chinese civilization,
carrying with it immense historical significance and powerful innate momentum.
3 Understanding Ecological Civilization
from the Perspective of the 100-Year-Long Struggles
of the Communist Party of China
After the Opium War broke out, China was forced to face strong enemies and tremendous changes never seen in its thousands-of-years-long history. When the country
was afflicted by internal strife and external humiliation, worsening environment and
constant disasters, countless patriots sought up and down despite bewilderments and
setbacks for a way to save the nation from misery and subjugation and lead it to
revival. Under the wise leadership of the CPC, Chinese people fought fearlessly
against foreign aggression regardless of injuries and deaths, and eventually founded