The Green Leaves of China. Sociopolitical Imaginaries in Chinese Environmental Nonfiction
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The green leaves of China. Sociopolitical imaginaries in Chinese environmental nonfiction. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde an der Philosophischen Fakultät der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg Institut für Sinologie Vorgelegt von Matthias Liehr April 2013 Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Rudolf G. Wagner Zweitgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler Table of contents Table of contents 1 Acknowledgements 2 List of abbreviated book titles 4 I. Introduction 5 I.1 Thesis outline 9 II. Looking for environmentalism with Chinese characteristics 13 II.1 Theoretical considerations: In search for a ‘green public sphere’ in China. 13 II.2 Bringing culture back in: traditional repertoires of public contention within Chinese environmentalism 28 II.3 A cosmopolitan perspective on Chinese environmentalism 38 III. “Woodcutter, wake up”: Governance in Chinese ecological reportage literature 62 III.1 Background: Economic Reform and Environmental Destruction in the 1980s 64 III.2 The narrative: Woodcutter, wake up! – A tale of two mountains, and one problem 68 III.3 The form: Literary reportage, and its role within the Chinese social imaginary 74 III.4 The subject matter: Naturescape and governance 86 IV. Tang Xiyang and the creation of China’s green avant-garde 98 IV.1 Beginnings: What nature? What man? 100 IV.2 A Green World Tour 105 IV.3 Back in China: Green Camp, and China’s new green elite 130 V. Back to the future? Ecological Civilization, and the search for Chinese modernity 144 V.1 What is “Ecological Civilization”? 146 V.2 Mr. Science or Mr. Culture to the rescue? 152 VI. The allure of the periphery: Cultural counter-narratives and social nonconformism 182 VI.1 The rugged individual in the wilderness: Yang Xin 184 VI.2 Counter-narratives and ethnicity discourse in 1980s China 193 VI.3 A land for heroes 199 VI.4 A land of spirituality 217 VII. Conclusions 226 VIII. List of works cited 229 Acknowledgements First, my thanks go to Prof. Rudolf G. Wagner. It was he who encouraged me to apply for the position as a doctoral student at the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Transcultural Flows” at Heidelberg University. He kindly agreed to become my supervisor, and during the course of this project offered constant guidance, support, and constructive criticism; I profited greatly from our spirited conversations, but also from the constant stream of helpful emails that seem to leave his office regardless of the time of day, many of which found their way into this dissertation in some form or the other. When I struggled to give my thesis the focus and argumentative edge it required, it was Prof. Wagner who urged me on until I finally could tell the trees from the forest. Time and time again, he offered invaluable inspiration from a seemingly endless reservoir of knowledge, alerting me to the connections I had failed to see, and pushing me to develop my argument beyond what I had thought was possible. Without Prof. Wagner, this project would not have come to fruition. I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Subrata Mitra who accompanied me throughout this journey. His expertise as a political scientist made me sharpen my methodological wits and made me truly appreciate the ways in which scholars from different disciplines can cooperate to enrich each other’s perspective. Prof. Mitra’s door was always open for me, and behind it I always found an open ear, a warm word, and a cup of tea. Prof. Barbara Mittler readily agreed to take on the role of second supervisor on short notice, for which I am highly grateful. The dynamism and professionalism with which she stems an impossible work load are admirable. Thanks to Prof. Wang Nuo 王诺 from the Department of Literature at Xiamen University who gracefully invited me to the first China-Taiwan Conference on Ecological Literature in Xiamen. Prof. Wang was not only a formidable host, but his advice provided an invaluable contribution. Thanks are also due to all the excellent Chinese scholars who were so kind to share their insights with me during this occasion. 2 Many thanks also to all the volunteers and members of China’s environmental NGOs I had the privilege of meeting during my research, such as Friends of Nature, Global Village Beijing, or China Dialogue. Their commitment and dedication amidst difficult circumstances deserve our respect and appreciation. Finally, my special gratitude belongs to my family and friends, too many to list, who accompanied me through the years of this project, the good times and the bad. When the road seemed uncertain, many helping hands lifted me up again. A special salute goes to the members of the Graduate Program for Transcultural Studies (you know who you are). I fondly remember all we shared, the discussions, the work, the laughs as well as the challenges (not to mention a considerable number of beverages). Working with these remarkable individuals at the Karl Jaspers Center in Heidelberg has been a transformative experience. It opened windows for me into worlds that I would have never known otherwise. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow. I dedicate this book to my parents, Christina and Willi Liehr, to whose unconditional love and support I owe everything. Heidelberg, April 15th 2013 3 List of abbreviated book titles AGWT TANG Xiyang 唐锡阳 and Ma Xia 马霞 [Marcia B. Marks] (1993): Huanqiu Lüsexing [A Green World Tour]. Guilin: Lijiang chubanshe. BZQ LIANG Congjie 梁从诫 (2002). Bu zhonghe de quan [The unclosed circle]; Tianjin: Baihua wenyi chubanshe. CCC TANG Xiyang 唐锡阳 et al. (2004). Cuo! Cuo! Cuo! Tang Xiyang lüse chensi yu baijia pingdian [Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! – Tang Xiyang’s green thoughts and critical suggestions from one-hundred authors]. Shengyang: Shengyang chubanshe. CJH YANG Xin 杨欣 (1997). Changjiang hun [Soul of the Yangtze]. Guangzhou: Lingnan meishu chubanshe. FMXL XU Gang 徐刚 (1997). Famuzhe, xinglai! [Woodcutter, wake up!]. Changchun: Jilin renmin chubanshe. HB LIU Jianqiang 刘鉴强 (2009). Tianzhu. Cangren chuanqi [Heavenly Beads. Legends of the Tibetans]. Lhasa, Xizang renmin chubanshe. KKXL YANG Xin 杨欣 (2007). Qinli Kekexili 10 nian [10 years in Kekexili]. Beijing: Sanlian shudian. LY TANG Xiyang 唐锡阳 (2007). Lüse Ying [Green Camp]. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe. WWDZ LIANG Congjie 梁从诫, LIANG Xiaoyan 梁晓燕, eds. (2000). Wei wugao de daziran [Speaking on behalf of nature]. Tianjin: Baihua wenyi chubanshe. Note Throughout the text, Chinese terms are transcribed with the Pinyin system. All translations of Chinese sources are by me, unless otherwise indicated. I am solely responsible for any errors in these translations, as I am for any mistakes found in the present thesis. 4 I. Introduction China continues its rise towards a global economic superpower, yet it has become increasingly clear that this economic success story has caused severe damage to China’s environment (Edmonds 1994; Economy 2007). In a blue paper released on February 12th, 2014, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences warned that pollution made Beijing “nearly uninhabitable for human beings.”1 Word of dire environmental deterioration also reaches a broad international audience on an almost daily basis, as news outlets are abuzz with reports2 whose tone ranges from disconcerting to bizarre to outright apocalyptic. China’s bleak environmental situation might potentially have far-ranging implications in China and beyond: Water pollution and water scarcity are burdening the economy, rising levels of air pollution are endangering the health of millions of Chinese, and much of the country's land is rapidly turning into desert. China has become a world leader in air and water pollution and land degradation and a top contributor to some of the world's most vexing global environmental problems, such as the illegal timber trade, marine pollution, and climate change. As China's pollution woes increase, so, too, do the risks to its economy, public health, social stability, and international reputation. (Economy 2007: 1) 1 A report in the Chinese media citing the findings of the paper, “北京污染指数已接近不适合人类居住程 度 [Beijing’s pollution index makes the city nearly uninhabitable for human beings]” can be found here: http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2014/02-12/5829935.shtml [2014-09-09], a Reuters report in English here: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/13/china-pollution-idUKL3N0LI 02320140213 [2014-09-09]. Meanwhile, China Digital Times reports that the State Council Information Office has directed Chinese online news outlets to censor the report: http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/02/ minitrue-delete-beijing-nearly-uninhabitable/ [2014-09-09]. 2 See for example: “Choking on growth”, a series of reports run by the New York Times that directly links economic growth and environmental crisis, (accessible under: http://www.nytimes.com/ interactive/2007 /12/29 /world/asia/choking_on_growth_10.html; accessed 2011/11/04); “Raising a stink. Efforts to improve China’s environment are having far too little effect” in The Economist from Aug 5th 2010. (http://www.economist.com/node/16744110, 2011-11-04); The East is grey from Aug. 10th 2013 in the same publication [http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/ 21583245-china- worlds-worst-polluter-largest-investor-green-energy-its-rise-will-have, 2013-12-04]; or “China’s out of control pollution” in Le Monde Diplomatique (October 2009; http://mondediplo.com/ blogs/china-s- out-of-control-pollution [2001/11/04]. The minacious tone and thrust of these headlines are representative of the gros of Western reporting on China’s environmental situation. Introduction Environmental degradation is now such that it actually is threatening the economic gains China has achieved over the last decades. (Lieberthal/Economy 2007) Some (Sharpiro 2001) have pointed to the Maoist legacy as the source of China’s environmental calamities; the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution resulted in very serious environmental damages and notions such as “struggling against nature” are still prevalent today in the mindset of many cadres.