The
Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism is a new academic field in which both the
Chinese and foreign scholars have achieved a lot of exploratory fruits. It is a
starting point for the scholars both at home and abroad to discuss, from the
perspective of religions or Religious Daoism, how to propose a reasonable
interpretation for the ecological environmental crisis. It is a theoretical base
for the scholars to discuss ,from the perspective of religions or Religious
Daoism, how to seek the theoretical principle in order to dispel the ecological
environment crisis. It is a value base for the scholars to discuss, from the
perspective of religions or Religious Daoism, how to seek the ethical base for
ecological environment. It is the common aim for the scholars how to look after
the sustainable and harmonious development between human beings and their
ecological environment.
As
a whole, the study of Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism, still in embryo,
needs to be furthered. Therefore, the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism during
the period of the Han, Wei, Jin, the Southern and Northern Dynasties are
deeply studied in this paper. The creative research of this paper lies in the
seven aspects as follows:
I.
Defining the term of the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism. Firstly this
paper analyses the definitions of Ecology and
Ecological Ideas, and secondly clarify the basic dimensions of Ecological Ideas,
and finally define the term of the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism. Ecology
is a science focusing on the existence of the living things and their value
realization. Ecological Ideas refer in particular to,
in a metaphysical sense, the World View and Values and Technology View. All the
ideas, existing in the theories and applications of Ecology, are the built-in
scientific thoughts of Ecology. The Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism refer
to the Ecological World View, Values and Ecology-controlled Ideas, which exist
in the tenets of Religious Daoism and are connected with the existence of living
things（including
the existence of human beings）.
II.
Demonstrating the Nativeness of Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism. This paper
points out that the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism are the outcome of the
interaction of the Chinese history, cultures and ecological environment before
the Han, Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties. According to the
kernel of the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism, the cosmos has its own order
and is full of complexity and uncertainty, and human beings should probe, follow
and control the simple and certain order of the universe, and deduce the social
order which is necessary for the social existence of human beings from the holy
order in the universe, thereby eliminate the complexity and uncertainty that
exist in the human beings’ environment, and make the social life of human
beings simplified and ordered, and finally realize the ideal for saving the
human beings’ society and becoming an immortal. The Ecological Ideas of
Religious Daoism originated from the traditional divine society in the earliest
antiquity, the revolution of ration in the Spring and Autumn Period and the
Warring States provided a rational base for the theology of Religious Daoism,
the theological atmosphere in the Han dynasties is the soil for the growth of
the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism.
III.
Forming a theoretic frame of the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism during
the period of the Han, Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
This theoretic system includes six parts, that is, the concept of the Ecological
Ideas of Religious Daoism, the Nativeness of the Ecological Ideas of Religious
Daoism, the Ecological World View of Religious Daoism, the Ecological Ideas of
Ethics of Religious Daoism, the Ecology-controlled Ideas of Religious Daoism and
the reasonable values of Religious Daoism.
IV.
Illuminating the basic contents and the evolutionary logic of the Ecological
World View of Religious Daoism. According to the tenets of Religious Daoism, the
universe is an organic system, Dao and Qi (vigour), or Dao, Qi (vigour), Deities
and Scriptures are divine, and have their divine personality, and the organic
cosmos is the offspring of the transformation and development of the Dao and Qi
(vigour), or Dao, Qi (vigour), Deities and Scriptures. The cosmic system
immanently has the multilayer divine orders. Human beings are an immanent
element of the divine organic cosmos. The goodness and badness of human beings
directly influence the cosmic order. If human beings violate the Dao and become
vicious, the harmony of the cosmic orders will be disturbed. If human beings
follow the Dao and behave morally, the divine orders in the universe will be
resumed, and actually will be able to help the Dao to engender all the things in
the world. Consequently, human beings play a very important role in the cosmic
ecology. Actually, human beings are the value center of the cosmos. Human beings
is able to cultivate himself according to the principle of Religious Daoism,
that is, human beings follow the Dao and behave morally to control the whole
cosmos and realize the ideal of Religious Daoism for saving the society and
becoming an immortal. Meanwhile during the period of the Han and Wei Dynasties,
the Dao, Qi (vigour) and deities were the thing-in-itself, while during the
period of the Eastern Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, owing to the
renaissance of Religious Daoism and the emergence of the plentiful Scriptures of
Religious Daoism, the Scriptures of Religious Daoism were exalted to the
position of the neumenon. According to the Ecological World View of Religious
Daoism, human beings and society are brought into the organic cosmos, and the
social and ethical orders are parts of the cosmic order, revealing the
cosmographic character of the social existence of human beings and social and
ethical orders, the cosmographic and sociological roots for becoming an immortal
and saving the society.
V.
Elucidating the contents of the Ecological Ideas of the Ethics of Religious
Daoism. the Ecological Ideas of the Ethics of Religious Daoism include the
ecological meaning of the Worldly Ethics, the Ethics of Religious Daoism and the
Ethics of Ecology. The Worldly Ethics are the behavior norms, which serve to
preserve the economic and political order in the patriarchal society; the
patriarchal power is the base of the patriarchal society, the monarchical power
is the core of the patriarchal society; these norms are the standard to judge
what is goodness or badness. The Ethics of Religious Daoism refer in particular
to series of ethic norms which are included in the tenets of Religious Daoism,
these norms serve to set up and preserve the built-in order of Religious Daoism,
and safeguard the orderly movement of Religious Daoism and promote the
realization of the ideal for saving the society and becoming an immortal. The
Ethics of Ecology generally refer to the ethic norms connected with the
maintenance and protection of the stability, vitality and diversity of the
ecosystem. The ecological meanings are that the three ethics originates from the
divine orders and influence the cosmic orders. According to the Ecological
Ethics of Religious Daoism, the Dao is the root of goodness and badness, which
originates from the divine order of the Universe, but the value core is the
realization of secular interests of human beings. According to the doctrines of
Religious Daoism, the social action of human beings disobeys the Dao and
disturbs the cosmic order and causes the cosmic vitality to wither. Human beings
in their earthly society are faced with various difficulties. But if human
beings follow the Dao and behave morally, the harmonious order of the Universe
can be resumed, the ecological environment and the flourishing society in which
human beings live happily and harmoniously.
VI.
Clarifying the Ecology-controlled Ideas of Religious Daoism. To follow the Dao
and behave morally are all the time the principle of the Ecology-controlled
Ideas of Religious Daoism. According to the tenets of Religious Daoism, as a
result of the complexity and uncertainty, the real-life existence of human
beings cannot always escape the obsession of the various tribulations, resulting
from the disorders of the Universe and society. Therefore, to save the society
and become immortals, the thinkers of Religious Daoism show the strongest
desires to control the ecology of the body and the ecology of the Universe
including the society, and develop many methods to control the ecology of the
body and the ecology of the Universe, and make the cosmos the fitting
environment for human beings and make ascetics of Religious Daoism longevity or
immortality.
VII.
Reasonably appraising the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism. Religious Daoism
is a kind of religion. Therefore the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism
invariably include the theological and archaic mediumistic factors. If we shuck
off these theological and archaic mediumistic factors, we can find the
reasonable factors in the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism. From the
perspective of the relationship between Religious Daoism and traditional
cultures, the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism play a very important role in
inheriting and developing the traditional cultures. The Ecological Ideas of
Religious Daoism are the organic factors of the traditional cultures and an
important form of the development of the traditional cultures. From the
perspective of the relationship between human beings and nature, the Ecological
Ideas of Religious Daoism develop the Ecological World View, claim to follow and
maintain the ecological orders of the cosmos, and oppose destroying or
disturbing the ecological orders of the cosmos. Because these viewpoints are
propitious to human beings to understand the ecological characters of the
Universe, and to recognize and settle the global environmental problems, these
viewpoints have very important theoretic value and realistic significance. From
the perspective of the relationship between human beings and society, the
Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism include various reasonable ethical factors,
which is very necessary for the building and maintenance of the harmonious
social order. From the perspective of the relationship between Religious Daoism
and science, the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism include many scientific
factors, and have internally an impetus to promote the development of science.
Yet these contents are wrapped in the hull of theology and magic. If the hull
was scrapped, many scientific ideas will be found.
Religious
Daoism has plenty of systemic ecological ideas, and the goal of this paper is to
probe and find these ideas. This paper is a pioneer one in the Chinese and
foreign study in the field of the Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism. The
scholarly value of this paper is very high for human beings to understand
Religious Daoism, the relationship between Religious Daoism and the traditional
cultures, and the relationship between Religious Daoism and the science in
ancient China. At the same time, this paper is of important theoretic value and
realistic significance for the modern people to recognize and settle the global
environment crisis, and construct the harmonious relationship between human
beings and nature.
Religious
Daoism is a complicated, historical and cultural phenomenon. To clarify the
Ecological Ideas of Religious Daoism, this paper use synthetically methods as
follows: the method to select the scriptures of Religious Daoism, historical
method, philosophical method; the method of Cultural Ecology.