Constructing a Discourse of "Scientific Development" and "Ecological Civilisation" in China. Ecology and Ideology in Chinese Thought

Seán Golden, member of the Inter-Asia research group, spoke at the 9th EastAsiaNet Research Workshop at Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal, 19-21 April 2012) dedicated to risk and the environment in East ASia on the subject of Constructing a Discourse of "Scientific Development" and "Ecological Civilisation" in China. Ecology and Ideology in Chinese Thought.

Abstract

Hu Jintao introduced the concept of “scientific development” into official Party discourse. This is understood to refer to the need for better environmental management, the reduction of environmental degradation and conservation of the environment. Think tanks of the Central Committee have elaborated a discourse of “Ecological Civilisation” to accompany the previously constructed discourses of “Material Civilisation” (the economy), “Spiritual Civilisation” (culture) and “Political Civilisation” (democracy and the rule of law). References to Nature in an environmental or ecological context are rare in the history of Chinese thought, much more associated with Daoism than with Confucianism, but they do exist. Lynn White (“The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis”) pointed out long ago that the book of Genesis lies behind Western notions of the exploitation of nature. Frans de Wahl (The Ape and the Sushi Master) suggested that Japanese primatologists made important discoveries about the role of culture among primates earlier than their Western counterparts because of their grounding in a Shinto perception of the natural world. This study proposes to compare and contrast the ideological bases of Euroamerican and East Asian approaches to the environment.

"China's Perception of Risk and the Concept of 'Comprehensive National Power'"

The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies has recently published an article by Seán Golden, member of the Inter-Asia research team, in a special volume dedicated to Political and Economic Decoupling and Risk Assessment in Contemporary Asia.

Abstract 

This article approaches the concept of risk from a Chinese perspective and traces its evolution throughout the history of Chinese thought, from the classics to the present. It analyzes underlying elements that have given rise to its current form, in comparison with elements of the same concept in the West, and describes how the perception of risk has helped shape the guidelines of China's ongoing transformation, as in the case of "peaceful development" and a "harmonious world". It identifies the main domestic and foreign risks that threaten the sustainability of China's development, and discusses the concept of "comprehensive national power".

First Asia-Europe Forum on Methods and Perspectives of Risk Analysis

Inter-Asia reserach group member Sean Golden spoke at the First Asia-Europe Forum on Methods and Perspectives of Risk Analysis co-organised at the City University of Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Advanced Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Studies of City University and by the In-EAST: Institute of East Asian Studies of Universität Duisburg-Essen (Germany) in collaboration with EastAsiaNet on 17-18 November 2011. His topic was Discourse and Risk in Chinese Strategic Thinking:

Abstract

Discourse has been a focus for Chinese thinking on risk and strategy from ancient times until the present. After presenting some examples of discourse analysis in the context of risk in classical Chinese politic and military thought, his presentation proposed that reading between the lines of official policy statements today in order to identify underlying issues of conflict and political struggle can be a valuable instrument for risk analysis in the context of contemporary Chinese studies. Discourse analysis can be applied equally well to the official policy statements of the USA or the EU in order to gauge the state of their relations with China or their mutual relations. The presentation was based on a brief selection of case studies.