What sentence of Mencius tells us how ancient people protected the environment?
Perhaps the ancients' protection of the environment was not out of long-term consideration at first, but out of awe of nature. As we all know, there is a very important saying in ancient times, which is "Tao". "Tao" is a statement used by Taoism to explore the relationship among nature, society and life, and the law of nature is Tao. Therefore, people in ancient China believed that only by following the laws of natural development could people be protected by heaven and earth and survive and be preserved. Zhuangzi's internal work "On the Homology of Things" holds that everything is equal in the final analysis, establishes the dominant position of nature, and emphasizes that man and nature should be harmonious, unified and mutually beneficial. These undoubtedly bring important enlightenment to China's theory of "sustainable development" at this stage.
In fact, the ancients had a strong sense of "sustainable development". The book "Shang Jun's Painting Strategy" records: "There are no eggs in the world of the Yellow Emperor." In other words, in the era of the Yellow Emperor, people were not allowed to hunt deer and collect birds' eggs. Deer is an important hunting object in ancient times, and it has become the symbol of all animals by the ancients, and eggs are the basis of bird reproduction. It shows that as early as the Yellow Emperor period, people have realized that if they don't conform to the laws of nature, they may not survive in the end. Mencius, as one of the representatives of Confucianism, talked about ways to increase the number of people when solving problems for Liang. One of them is that while helping people with disaster relief, we should also be careful not to "sit on the bench." Mencius put forward:
If you don't go against the farming season, the valley can't take food; If you don't count, neither fish nor turtle can be eaten. Axe gold gets into the mountain in time, and mywood can't be used.
A country is rich in food and resources. Who else doesn't want to come? Li Shangyin, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, was indignant at bamboo shoots. At that time, the dignitaries tasted all the big fish and meat, just to taste the fresh. Every spring, they begin to shoot bamboo shoots, which is a famous dish in Chang 'an. When Li Shangyin saw this, he began to write: "When the tender buds first came out of the forest, Yuling was as expensive as gold. The imperial capital, land and sea, should be countless, and endure an inch of Lingyun? " -Destroying a bamboo forest to satisfy your desire, won't your conscience hurt?
Nowadays, people's awareness of environmental protection is increasingly strong, and the rules of putting garbage into baskets and sorting garbage are observed by most people, but littering is still very common. What would happen if you threw rubbish at random in ancient times?
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the imperial court issued the Order of Cutting Sacrifice, which wrote: "If you don't destroy houses, fill wells, cut down trees and move six animals, you will die without forgiveness." This seems a bit too strict now, but all this reflects the determination of the court to govern and maintain the environment. "Han Feizi's theory of hiding" records: "Yin's method, those who abandon ash to Tao, break their hands." With such strict street laws, it is conceivable that ancient streets must be very clean and tidy. This is the order related to the street environment during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. When Zi Gong got it, he told his teacher Confucius that it was too harsh, but Confucius thought that this was the way to know how to govern the country, so he told Zi Gong that if there was dust in the street, it would blind passers-by and make them very angry and prone to conflicts. Confucius, who has always advocated treating people with "benevolence", also thinks that this decree is "although it can be punished", which shows that the ancients really paid attention to urban cleanliness! The Five Elements of History of Han Dynasty also mentioned the punishment provisions for littering in Qin Dynasty-"Qin Lian sits next to his neighbor, and those who throw ash on the road will be embarrassed."
After the history entered the Tang Dynasty, the national management system of domestic waste was more perfect. It is stipulated in the Discussion on the Law of the Tang Dynasty: "If you want to expose filthy things through the wall holes in the streets and alleys, you should stick 60 stickers. The master has to commit the same crime. " In order to control the environment, successive dynasties did not hesitate to issue torture, which may not be desirable, but the strong environmental protection concept of the ancients is worth learning.
With the changes of the times, the admiration and awe for the laws of nature from the beginning evolved into the conquest and transformation later. Humans seem a little conceited, want to take from nature with great fanfare, and dream of conquering nature. As we all know, rivers are shrinking, deserts are expanding, icebergs are melting, and the climate is warming ... Fortunately, human beings have gradually realized that following the laws of nature should be consistent regardless of ancient and modern times. The idea of advocating low-carbon conservation and green environmental protection is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and human beings no longer interfere too much with the original ecological laws of nature.