161 Introduction 1. for the Most Part, I Use the Modern Pinyin Transliteration System to Render Mandarin Into English (I.E
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Notes Introduction 1. For the most part, I use the modern Pinyin transliteration system to render Mandarin into English (i.e., Yangzi = Yangtze). Though older systems may be more familiar to readers, the Pinyin is preferred. So Taoism becomes Daoism, tofu becomes dofu, Peking becomes Beijing, Szechuan becomes Sichuan, and so on. Chapter 1. The Highest Good 1. For a summary of Yunnan’s biodiversity, see studies by Yang et al. (2004) and Xu and Wilkes (2004). For comparison, the United States has less than half as many plants and about a third fewer mammals and birds. Mittermeier et al. (2004: 159–164) describe the mountains of southwest China as a biodiversity hotspot. MacKinnon and Wang’s report (2008) is a general reference on biodiversity across China. Stein et al. (2000) are a good source for comparative global biodiversity data. 2. Income figures are from a report by Young and Yang (2005). Life expec- tancy and literacy rates for Yunnan are from the China Statistical Year- book (2006). 3. TNC China’s Web site is www.nature.org/china. 4. D. Wang (2000) gives an account of this transition along with popula- tion data. In the Nu, about 22 percent of all farmland lies on steep slopes greater than twenty-five degrees (Xu and Wilkes 2002: 6). 5. This I Jing quote is from hexagram 4 in the translation by Wilhelm and Baynes (1950: 20–24). The Daodejing quote is from the translation by Feng and English (1972); this translation does not have numbered pages. See Porter’s book (1996) on the text for a scholarly translation with valuable commentary. 6. The Go West policy is treated thoroughly in chapter 2. 7. Wilkes (2005) provides background information on Dimaluo. 8. The Chinese currency is the renminbi (RMB) or yuan. The vernacular for both is kuai. During the writing of this book, the exchange rate with the U.S. dollar was 6.8 to 1; to simplify conversions, I have rounded this ratio up to 7 to 1 throughout the text. R.E. Grumbine, Where the Dragon Meets the Angry River: Nature and Power in the 161 People’so Republic of China, DOI 10.5822/978-1-59726 - 811 - 0 , © 20 1 0 R. Edward Grumbine 162 Notes 9. Wilkes (2003) gives a detailed treatment of villager issues. 10. The number of organizations petitioning the PRC grew eventually to ninety (Y. Wang 2007). Chapter 2. The Frontier and the Middle Kingdom 1. Fortey (2004) provides an overview of the region’s geological evolution. For details, see work by Shi et al. (1999). 2. Yang et al. (2004) summarize Yunnan’s biodiversity across many taxa. 3. Elvin has written the definitive environmental history of China from its earliest beginnings up to the twentieth century. 4. Needham and Ling (1954: 242) provide a fascinating table cataloging Chinese mechanical inventions and the lag time (in centuries) before these technologies were transported to (“discovered by”) the West. Paper, for example, took ten centuries to be transmitted; the magnetic compass took four centuries. Winchester (2008) writes a compelling biography of Needham. 5. J. Goodman (2000) provides a summary of Yunnan’s prehistory. Scott (2009: 120–121) shows how the ancient Han used their own cultural markers (irrigated agriculture, use of plows, fixed settlements, etc.) to label ethnic minorities as barbarians (sheng, “raw”) compared to the Han (shu, “cooked”). For details on how Han expansion affected local peoples’ migrations throughout southern China, see studies by Wiens (1954), Fitzgerald (1972), and Fiskesjo (2006). See also Sturgeon’s work (2007). 6. For a concise history of Beijing, see Haw’s account (2007). 7. Donald and Benewick (2005) offer a wealth of data for each province in an easy-to-read format. Young and Yang (2005:18) break down Yunnan’s ethnic nationalities by percentage of total population and by geographic distribution. 8. However, people living on Yunnan’s border were severely affected by the Cultural Revolution. At least 17,000–37,000 ethnic nationality people were killed and a minimum of 50,000 people fled west out of China to escape persecution (Schoenhals 2004). 9. Young (2007b) is an excellent analysis using PRC data. 10. Wilkes (2005) has provided the most cogent analysis of multiple points of view concerning the social construction of ethnic nationality identity in Yunnan. He has not published this material; it is only available in dissertation format (copy in author’s files). 11. Weller (2006: 20–23) discusses Chinese terms for nature; I have based much of my treatment on his work. Notes 163 12. For coverage of Daoism and Buddhism as sources of environmental values in China, see the work of Girardot et al. (2001) and Tucker and Williams (1997), respectively. Porter (1993) provides a first-person account of Daoist monks in modern China. 13. M. Elvin (2004: 323) uses China’s famous shanshui, “mountains and riv- ers,” poetic tradition to accent this paradox. This tradition blossomed in the fourth century ce when nature in China remained largely intact. Six hundred years later, “this would begin to be doubtful. A thousand years later it would be untrue” (368). Elvin is saying that at the begin- ning of the classical nature poetry tradition in China, there was little contradiction between what people wrote and what they experienced (i.e., healthy ecosystems). The gap between poetic perception and bio- logical reality widened over time, yet the chasm was not reflected in the writing. 14. W. Chan (1963) translates Wang Yangming’s sixteenth-century Confu- cian interpretation, “Inquiry on the Great Learning.” Sources related to environmental values in Confucianism are found in work by Adler et al. (1998). Tu (2001) makes a case for an ecological neo-Confucianism; in my Chinese experience, I have not seen this trend. Overall, however, Confucianism is increasingly influential in modern China (see Bell 2008). 15. The quote is from R. Harris’s book (2008: 59) on wildlife conservation, from his excellent material on the subject of wildness. Gary Snyder (2003: 203–208) also makes important observations on this point: nature in China is “not a ‘wilderness’ but a habitat . a model for a better way of life.” Snyder goes on to point out that in a country as large as China with a mobile population, “a ‘sense of place’ would be hard to maintain. Humanistic concerns can be cultivated anywhere, but certain kinds of understanding and information about the natural world are only avail- able to those who stay put and keep looking” (208). I would add that the natural world has to “stay put” too; the Chinese, due to a variety of pressures, continue to transform wild nature. 16. Scott (2009) lays out a strong case that across mainland upland Asia (including Yunnan) state-centered powers have always attempted to control ethnic nationality peoples who choose to live on borders, a choice these peoples make precisely because they want to avoid the state. 17. Dams in Yunnan are covered in detail in chapter 7. 18. R. Harris (2008: 55, 250–251) discusses in detail the difficulties in under- standing the meaning of shengtai jianshe. 164 Notes 19. McBeath and McBeath (2006) describe issues related to linking Chi- nese biodiversity conservation policies with management practices. H. Xu et al. (2009) quantify the mixed results from recent Chinese efforts to lower rates of biodiversity loss. Chapter 3. Under the Jade Dragon 1. Sicroff et al. (2003: 536) describe Lijiang as a “tourist ghetto.” McKhann (2001: 150) labeled it “totally out of control.” And these comments do not reflect the spectacular growth over recent years. Oakes (1997) and Ruch (2006) provide insightful analyses of authenticity in Chinese tourism. 2. During the 2008 spring festival, “Golden Week,” Xinhua News Agency (2008b) reported that Chinese railroads would carry 178.6 million pas- sengers. For perspective, 41 million Americans traveled over Thanks- giving weekend in 2007. Tourism in China is growing rapidly; the prediction is for the PRC to be second only to the United States by 2017 (Z. Li 2006a). 3. For insights into Chinese tourist values, see the work of Wu et al. (2000) and Sofield and Li (1998). 4. Sicroff et al. (2003) describe this project. 5. This is the beginning couplet of “River Snow,” a poem by Liu Tsung- yuan from the Tang dynasty. Hinton (2005: 154) is the translator. 6. This is the Chinese story/myth of Peach Blossom Spring, well-known to many Han Chinese and written by the famous poet T’ao Ch’ien in the fourth century ce. The translation is Hinton’s (1993: 70). 7. Swope et al. (1997) and Zackey (2007) provide detailed accounts of these events in Wenhai. Land tenure throughout the PRC is a contentious matter, one that most observers agree will have to be resolved before conservation (and the market economy) can evolve much further. Ho (2001) makes the point that the Party believes that current policies provide an ideological alternative to Western-style private property. A basic reference on these matters is by Oi and Walden (1999). Recent changes in Chinese law are “privatizing” the management of collective forests (Stone 2009). 8. The following data come from bulletin-board displays in the dining room at the eco-lodge. 9. Bullock (2003) was the lead TNC staff person working on the eco- lodge project. 10. See the report by The Nature Conservancy and Yunnan Provincial Notes 165 Government (2001). The provincial government also contracted with the World Tourism Organization (2001) to build a province-wide plan at the time. 11. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines ecotourism as “environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas in order to enjoy and appreciate nature .