Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
versa. Another reference, here to the newly established Qiangtang Reserve in Tibet, again
uses the garden analogy, stretched as it might seem given what precedes it: “With an average
annual temperature between minus three degrees and zero Celsius and a yearly precipitation
between 100 and 300 millimeters, Qingtang [
sic
] is too cold and dry to accommodate human
souls, but it is what Chinese and American zoologists call 'a rare animal garden.'”
28
Similarly, semi-popular accounts of China's nature reserve system frequently refer to
such reserves set aside specifically for protection of endangered wildlife as “natural zoos.”
29
In this secondary thread, animals do not necessarily have to be consumed to be valued, but
their beauty comes from their resemblance to human creations, and they are attractive to
the degree they are controlled.
Popular accounts intended to elicit concern for the plight of endangered wildlife sometimes
seem to be on a trajectory that moves them increasingly far from an ecological perspective,
traversing the dominionistic and aesthetic domains, and settling on a Disney-esqe anthro-
pomorphism that is almost quaint (when it is not simply funny). As though assuming that
the only way to engage the Chinese reader's sympathy is to turn their animal subjects into
furry people, the authors of these accounts take liberties with biology that Western popular
media would shun as soon as the target audience is past the cartoon-watching age. Most
commonly seen on the popular wildlife-oriented television shows, such anthropomorphism
sometimes finds it way into print, as for example, in the following passage from a topic in-
tended to publicize the plight of the chiru. What purports to be a straightforward presentation
of information obtained by Academy of Sciences personnel in the course of a field survey
soon strays curiously close to soft-core pornography.
30
Dr. Su and his colleagues have observed some particular characteristics of chiru
during the breeding period. When the male chiru feels the stirrings of love, the
female who is the first object of his attention does not bend down and raise her
buttocks in expression of gentle acceptance; rather, she runs for all she's worth in
a circle around the male, and in this way, elicits even greater ardor from him, and
causes him to exert much physical effort in chasing her. It is only when the chase
tires her out and she stands still, or even drops to the ground, that she is willing to
bend down, and submitting to the male's will, allow him to mount her. The pair
then enters a painfully sweet sexual condition. In this manner, the male completes
his love-giving task with each and every one of his harem.
31
HUNTING
With its roots in irrigated agriculture and fortified city-states, it is not surprising that Han
culture has little room for hunting, either as sport, subsistence, or spiritual quest. But it
is not quite the case that there is no hunting tradition at all. Evidently beginning as early
as the Shang Dynasty of 2000
B
.
C
.
E
.,
32
enclosed hunting parks and preserves became a
common feature of imperial life, although their popularity and size waxed and waned
with various dynasties. But access to the wildlife within these preserves was solely the
domain of the emperor and his court. While thousands of people might be employed in
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