Liu Xiaoyong: The Contemporary Significance of Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization in Returning to Roots and Innovating for the Future
Excellent traditional Chinese ecological culture represents the theoretical achievements in ecology passed down and developed through the generations by the Chinese nation. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization utilizes the "Two Combinations" [1] to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of this excellent traditional Chinese ecological culture, manifesting a contemporary significance of "returning to the roots to innovate" [2] and embodying a contemporary horizon of dialectical materialism.
First, the concept that "humanity and nature form a community of life" closely integrates materialism with dialectics, achieving a dialectical unity between objective regularity and subjective agency, and completing the modern transformation of the ancient Chinese concept of "the unity of Heaven and humanity" (tianren hayi). "The unity of Heaven and humanity" was the core concept of ancient, naive views of nature and an ontological generalization regarding the relationship between humanity and nature; based on this, ancient sages deduced a supreme state of coexistence where all things are interconnected and the self merges with the objective world. Although ancient scholars emphasized different aspects of this unity, they shared a common purpose in acknowledging the primordial nature of the world, respecting objective laws, and pursuing the ideal of harmony between humanity and nature—a stark contrast to the subject-object dichotomy characteristic of Western thought.
Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization inherits Marxist ecological thought and endows the concept of a "community of life" with the dual connotations of scientism and humanism. On one hand, the "community of life" emphasizes the priority of nature's existence, noting that humans exist and develop by virtue of exchanging matter and energy with the natural world. On the other hand, the "community of life" upholds human subjective creativity; while humans transform nature and create the world through practice, they simultaneously enhance and enrich their capacity for social practice. This dynamic process, in which humanity lives by nature and nature opens itself to humanity, maintains a relationship of integrated coexistence and co-evolution. This fundamentally overcomes the abstract understanding of the human-nature relationship found in "the unity of Heaven and humanity," laying a solid ontological foundation for socialist ecological civilization.
Second, the concept that "mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, and lakes are a community of life" combines modern science with traditional wisdom, achieving a dialectical unity of ecological worldview and methodology. It completes the modern transformation of the ecological reductionism of "mutual cultivation of residual breath" (yuqi xiangpei) found in ancient China. Based on agricultural experience, ancient Chinese people recognized the benefits of recycling waste. From the Fan Shengzhi Shu [3] to the Qi Min Yao Shu [4] and then the Tiangong Kaiwu [5], a systematic concept of ecological restorative agriculture was formed. In the Qing Dynasty, Yang Shen summarized this circular agriculture as "the mutual cultivation of residual breath" in his Zhiben Tigang. On this theoretical basis, the ancients established ecological agricultural systems. However, this theory was ultimately a product of a small-peasant economy, bearing clear reductionist characteristics that cannot address the ecological problems emerging in the process of Chinese-path modernization.
Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization insists on planning the overall ecological landscape using systemic concepts and dialectical methods. First, the concept of "lifelines" (mingmai) vividly illustrates that mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, forests, and grasslands constitute a "community of life." Second, it opposes ecological reductionism and the use of mechanical methods to treat this "community of life." As noted: "If those who plant trees only care about planting trees, those who manage water only care about managing water, and those who protect fields only care about protecting fields, it is easy to lose sight of one thing while attending to another, eventually causing systemic ecological destruction." Finally, it seeks ecological governance from the perspective of systematic engineering. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization emphasizes the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts. Strengthening the systematic governance of the ecological environment on a modern scientific basis has opened a new space for modern ecological civilization for traditional Chinese ecological wisdom.
Third, the concept that "a good ecological environment is the most universal benefit to people's wellbeing" closely integrates ecological civilization with the benevolent governance of people's livelihoods. This achieves a dialectical unity between ecological morality and ecological practice, completing the modern transformation of the "people as kin and things as fellows" (minbao wuyu) ethical concern of ancient China. Ancient Chinese ecological thought asserted that no life-form is superior or inferior, requiring one to embrace all things with a heart of benevolence (renai) to "align one’s virtue with Heaven and Earth." Laozi’s proposition of "clothing and nourishing all things without acting as their master" and Zhuangzi’s "universal love for all things" both require humans to shoulder the responsibility of treating nature well. Zhang Zai’s ideal state of "people as kin and things as fellows" regarded all things as siblings and advocated treating all life with universal love, embodying a people-centered ecological value orientation. However, traditional Chinese ecological thought achieved harmony between humanity and nature by cultivating noble moral character, a pursuit that lacked realistic concern for solving environmental and survival problems.
From the height of historical materialism, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization reveals the error of severing ecological morality from benevolent governance. It closely integrates the resolution of ecological problems with the resolution of livelihood issues, emphasizing that improving people's wellbeing and cultivating ecological morality must complement each other. On one hand, it fosters an awareness of the community of life throughout society, encouraging people to establish a moral sentiment of responsibility toward nature, reversing the modern trend of disregarding nature through ecological moral construction. On the other hand, it persists in the people-centered development philosophy, revealing the causes of the increasing tension between humanity and nature through the broad perspective of ecological livelihoods, seeking to resolve harmony between humanity and nature by resolving social contradictions. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization vividly embodies the people-centered development philosophy. The ecological environment is a major political issue related to the Party's mission and purpose, as well as a major social issue concerning people's livelihoods. More attention must be paid to the "urgent, difficult, and anxious" problems [6] of the masses, such as "whether there can be a little less smog, whether rivers and lakes can be a little cleaner, and whether waste incineration can avoid harming health." We must firmly ground the cultivation of ecological morality in the strengthening of ecological benefits for the people, ensuring that environmental protection and the enhancement of people's wellbeing reinforce each other.
Fourth, the concept of "constructing a grand pattern of protection and governance from the mountaintops to the oceans" closely integrates the improvement of systems with the strengthening of execution, achieving a dialectical unity between strict ecological institutions and systematic ecological governance. This completes the modern transformation of the ancient Chinese "Yu-Heng" system. Ancient Chinese people elevated the concept of protecting nature into the "Yu-Heng" (yuheng) system for managing mountains and marshes very early on. The Rites of Zhou (Zhouli) records institutions for managing natural resources such as mountains, forests, rivers, and marshes, including the Shanyu, Linheng, Chuanheng, and Zeyu. The duty of the Shanyu was to regulate the cutting of timber according to the seasons to ensure sustainability. The Qin Statutes record prohibitions against entering mountains to cut trees, burning grass for ash, or catching young animals at will; the Tang Code provided even stricter punishments for damaging nature. However, the draconian laws of the "Yu-Heng" system did not translate into effective institutional execution. The "Yu-Heng" system fundamentally maintained the private resource rights of the landlord class; while strictly limiting farmers' access to resources, it indulged the princes and nobles whose forest parks "reached the Southern Mountains without belonging to the people."
Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization proposes that ecological and environmental protection must rely on institutions and the rule of law, emphasizing that "only by implementing the strictest institutions and the most rigorous rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for the construction of ecological civilization." We must closely integrate the improvement of supporting systems with the strengthening of executive force, attaching great importance to the practical effects of ecological protection. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has not only constructed the "four pillars and eight beams" [7] of the ecological civilization system but has also driven historical, transitional, and global changes in ecological protection through the "strictest in history" ecological law enforcement. Through the dialectical unity of institutions and governance, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization has endowed the "Yu-Heng" system with new contemporary connotations.
Fifth, the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [8] closely integrates environmental protection with economic development, achieving a dialectical unity between protecting and developing the productive forces. This completes the modern transformation of the ancient Chinese view of "prosperity for ten thousand generations" (wanshi qichang). Through long-term production practice, the ancients recognized that only if natural resources were recycled continuously could social wealth endure. Guanzi proposed that even if mountains and marshes are vast, their resources must be managed, or the "doors to wealth will be closed." Mencius mentioned that if mulberry trees are planted and livestock is raised according to the seasons, the elderly will have silk and meat, and families will not suffer from hunger. Both Guanzi and Mencius emphasized the impact of ecological development modes on the economy and society, expressing a social ideal of achieving "prosperity for ten thousand generations" through harmony between humanity and nature. However, traditional Chinese ecological thought was, after all, a summary of individual survival experience under a small-peasant economy; it could not account for the ecological wellbeing of the broad masses, nor could it consider the sustainable development of humanity.
Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization has achieved the organic integration of the ecological environment and economic development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that protecting the ecological environment is protecting the productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing the productive forces. There is absolutely no oppositional relationship between "lucid waters and lush mountains" and "invaluable assets" (literally "gold and silver mountains"); only by protecting the ecological environment can we achieve the organic unity of economic, social, and ecological benefits. If we repeat the mistake of "polluting first and treating later" or "treating while polluting," we will ultimately lose both the "lucid waters and lush mountains" and the "invaluable assets." From the perspective of a win-win situation between ecological protection and economic development, Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization has completed the transcendence of the ancient Chinese view of "prosperity for ten thousand generations," laying the theoretical foundation for Chinese-path modernization characterized by harmony between humanity and nature.