Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
often seen in government-sponsored writing regarding its development is “
e lie,
” which in
other contexts is translated as “evil,” “odious,” or “disgusting.”
5
Such vocabulary appears
to betray a focus on intensive agriculture as practiced in temperate eastern China as being
right or normal, and grasslands, deserts, or forests as being wasteful or even sinful, rather
than as simply the local geographic realities.
6
Utilitarianism
Although there have been no scholarly studies of contemporary Chinese attitudes toward
wildlife,
7
a broad view of the literature and of language used in Chinese publications
suggests that they are predominately “utilitarian” and secondarily “dominionistic” and
“aesthetic,” to use the formulation of Stephen Kellert, a leading scholar of attitudes to-
ward nature. Simply put, most Chinese traditionally view wildlife in terms of its impact
on human life and livelihood, and secondarily as an object of beauty—but only when
under the control of man.
Others have already noted the predominance of the utilitarian view of wildlife among
most Chinese. Writers in English have generally been explicit about this, with Chinese less
so. For example, Shen and colleagues noted that while “conservation figures importantly in
the national development plan . . . in practice it is being promoted for utilitarian reasons,”
and later, “China's cultural heritage values wildlife . . . but the people have always adopted
a utilitarian attitude.”
8
Additional indications of the depth and breadth that the utilitarian view of wildlife holds
in the Chinese mind come from reading works in Chinese, including those not directly re-
lated to the issue of wildlife values. Almost invariably, when rationalizing research on one of
China's many
zhengui
(“precious and valuable”) species, the words
weile baohu
(“in order
to protect”) are followed immediately by
yu heli liyong
(“and rationally use”).
9
Wildlife is
also more frequently referred to as a “resource” (
ziyuan
) in the Chinese technical literature
than it is in the West.
Evidence of the utilitarian view exists in the nonscientific literature as well. A short, edu-
cational reader, intended to simultaneously provide reading practice for elementary school
students and indoctrinate them with the proper attitude toward nature and the environment,
serves as a good example.
10
The topic follows the experiences of a group of youngsters as
they are educated about environmental issues at the hands of the father of one of them, Mr.
Lin, an environmental engineer. It features chapters focusing on water and air pollution, solid
waste, protection of greenbelts, and other fashionable topics with environmental themes. Of
course, there is also a chapter focusing on wildlife.
After hearing the children exclaim that such creatures as bears, snakes, and wild boars
can be dangerous to people, Mr. Lin sagely interrupts them: “These animals can be dan-
gerous, but they are also beneficial! Take the tiger, for example. People call it 'King of the
Mountain,' but one could also say it's quite a treasure.” The children protest, “But tigers
threaten people!” Wanting to appear reasonable, Mr. Lin responds, “Yes, that's true, but the
benefits to people from tigers are also great.” What argument does he use to convince the
youngsters? “The entire body of a tiger is a treasure! Why, one could say that the tiger is a
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