Abstract
In this article I examine philosophical ideas in 1980s Chinese environmental literature that, while espousing perspectives on human relations to the natural environment derived from Daoism, animism, and Buddhism primarily convey a syncretic humanist philosophy of Neo-Confucian idealism. I analyze three influential post-Mao literary works that appropriate ancient philosophical thought and praxis to critique unsustainable deforestation during the intensifying neoliberal development characterizing the Deng era. Ah Cheng's 1985 novella, King of Trees is one of the earliest examples of post-Mao ecological consciousness. Xu Gang's 1987 Woodcutter, Wake Up! launched the eco-reportage movement by appealing to the moral center of the regime. Gao Xingjian's 1989 novel, Soul Mountain, details scientific ecological practices of conservationists via Daoist plays with language and meaning. I argue that while these post-Mao works appropriate perspectives from less anthropocentric philosophies, the underlying assumptions of each work nonetheless remains strongly humanist. Furthermore, while these works share a preoccupation with anthropogenic damage to the environment they convey optimism about the potential to minimize this impact via enlightened human participation in the cosmos. Philosopher Li Zehou's formulation of subjectivity conveys this perspective not as a concept of epistemology, but instead in viewing humans as forms of material, biological, and objective existence that have an active capability in relationship to the environment.
First Page
33
Last Page
44
Recommended Citation
Robin, Visser. 2013. "Anthropocosmic Resonance in Post-Mao Chinese Environmental Literature." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 33, (4): pp.33-44. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol33/iss4/7
