China's Ecological Civilisation Policy is an Expression of its Cultural Vitality:A dia-logue between Xu Jialu and John Cobb,Jr.
The article is the transcript of a dialogue between Mr.Xu Jialu and John Cobb,Jr..It was a"long-awaited"meeting between the two focusing on the themes of ecological civilisation and the re-juvenation of the Chinese nation.Cobb is convinced that the hope for ecological civilisation lies in China.Steps the country taken include legislatively making ecological civilisation a National Project of Millennial Significance,trans-forming its mode of economic development,turning to more scientific measures rather than solely by GDP to meausre economic growth,etc.He views these measures as very forward-looking,visionary and responsible.Cobb introduces the development of the term"ecological civilisation".He gives a concise ac-count of how and why the such movements as sustainable development and environmental protection lost momentum and eventaully cease to function.On the other hand,Cobb points out that the term"ecological civilisation"is a Chinese creation and a reflection of the strength and deepth of the Chi-nese culture.He believes that China is uniquely endowed with the resources to achieve an ecological civilisation:the traditional Chinese culture is deeply ecological;China still has the largest number of villages and farmers in the world;China's political system is different from that of the West and that it has not yet become a country where the rich are in power.John Cobb,Jr.also speaks of the systematic failure of the West and its root causes,which are now still in play.He is deeply disappointed that American academia has become the enemy of ecological civilisation.On the other hand,he believes that China's overall progress towards ecological civilisation shows the vitality of Chinese culture and that of the country's institutions.Therefore the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation would be to the common good to all humans.As a renowned scholar,Xu Jialu takes great interest in process philosphy,and in its connection with Chinese literature and philosophy.Xu shares his life stories on how he came to awaken to the dangers for the environment and the future of this planet.He recalls how the Chinese came to under-stand ecological civilisation,the development of ecological awareness under China's political ecology,and his understanding and assumption of the responsibilities of scholars and philosophers,calling for them to take their eco-responsibilities to popularize what they learn.Both sides agreed that traditional Chinese culture is deeply organic,and is a huge resource for China to engage in the cause of ecological civilisation;the key to the success of ecological civilisation lies in education.Nevertheless,it has been clear that the existing education is profoundly problematic.While the new educators and educational system called for by ecological civilisation have not yet appeared;China's education is indeed in urgent need of change,and China's education reform is a responsibility to the whole of mankind.He also expresses the hope that education would be at the core of future cooperation with John Cobb,Jr..
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