ABSTRACT
Li Gang (1998) notes that Daoism is a conceptual resource for solving environmental
problems. And today, the ecological interpretation of Daoism has become a growing research
area.1 Thus, for example, Yin Zhihua (1996) examines the numerous measures to protect
animals, plants, land, and water sources that are detailed in Daoist precepts. One of the authors
of this article (Chen Xia) investigates the Daoist contribution to sustainability and ecofeminism
(Yong and Xia 2001; Xia 2000). Such research is also done in the West, as the work of Tucker
(1993), Clark (1984, 188), Devall and Sessions (1984, 100), Sylvan and Bennett (1988), Hall
(1989), Ames (1989), and one of the authors (Martin Scho¨nfeld, 2007, 2011) illustrates. For
Tucker, Daoism contributes to a natural ecology. For Clark, the Daoist notion of (ci; ‘loving
kindness’) has ecosophical potential. For Devall and Sessions, it is clear that ‘sympathy,
respect, and affection for life are the foundation of the Daoist life’. For Sylvan and Bennett,
Daoism promotes the ‘green life’. ForHall, Daoism assists in generating a new order of conscious-
ness. For Ames, Daoism helps to solve key ecological problems, and for Scho¨nfeld, Daoism
informs the civil evolution that climate change demands.
