Ecological Civilization and Chinese Human Geography
摘要
The global aspiration for sustainability and local demand of the construction of contemporary Chinese ecological civilization are two major forces that shape Chinese human geographical theories and practices. The Chinese official discourse of “ecological civilization (EC),” which centers on Chinese traditional wisdom of unifying nature and man [sic] (天人合一) and sustainable economy and low-carbon innovation, is widely understood as a Chinese route to sustainability by local and international scholarships. This discourse is not simply a top-down model entangled with multi-scalar governance and development policies in Chinese society, but also inscribed in interdisciplinary research and education. For Chinese human geographers, the integration of the human-environment systems (人地系统) for our common future and shared planet has been regarded as the core of geographical knowledge production and practices for over a century. Although the ideas of EC, sustainability, and the human-environment system have different connotations, they share the common ground of encompassing economic growth, social justice, and environmental protection that challenge the circumstances of the Anthropocene. Building upon this view, this chapter outlines the theories and practices of EC in Sinophone human geographies and the possibility of internationalization of EC in global geography research and education.