ReflectionsThe Chinese recognised humans’ environmental impact more than 2,000 years ago, and punishments for violating laws governing nature were harsh
- Thinkers like Guan Zhong and Xunzi prohibited various types of environmental destruction, and a forestry office was already well established in the Zhou period
- In ancient times, trespassers of mountains and forests that had been temporarily sealed off were put to death or had their legs amputated
People of my generation should also apologise to the young people. Mine is the generation in Singapore that witnessed the beginning and subsequent normalisation of rampant consumerism and throwaway culture whose legacy not only degrades today’s environment, but will continue to do so for centuries after we’re no more. We behaved, and still behave, as though the earth’s largesse would never end.
The ancient Chinese were already mindful of the human impact on the natural environment. Thinkers such as Guan Zhong (died 645BC), the chief minister of a powerful feudal state, and Xunzi (died 217BC or 235BC), linked environmental protection with politics.
Guan prohibited the levelling of hills, large-scale burning and felling of big trees in spring. “If a lord cannot protect his mountains, forests, wetlands and grasslands, he cannot be king of all under heaven,” he wrote. For Xunzi, a sagely king is one who implements laws to prohibit the destruction of vegetation during seasons when plants bear fruit.
The office of the supervisor of forestry and hunting was already well-established in the Zhou period (around 1050BC – 256BC). Holders of the office were responsible for supervising the felling of timber, and all hunting and trapping activities in the mountains and forests.
The official oversight helped to prevent excessive and indiscriminate exploitation of the natural environment, and imposed regular moratoriums on cutting trees and hunting to facilitate ecological renewal. This ancient environmental protection office continued in various guises until the present day.