Chapter 17 Section 7 Thoughts on Biological Resources Protection

People in ancient my country realized very early that if they want to use biological resources, they must pay attention to protection, rational development, and oppose excessive utilization.In practice, these understandings have been continuously clarified and gradually deepened and improved. In "Historical Records Yin Benji", it tells the story of Shang Tang's love of birds "opening three sides of the net".Once in the wild, Tang saw someone set up a net to catch birds on all sides, and he prayed: "All birds from all over the world, come into my net cafe!" Tang said, "All the birds will be caught!" He said: "You don't want to die, come into my Internet cafe!" This story shows that at that time, he had paid attention not to destructive hunting, which was the germination of environmental protection thoughts. "Guoyu · Luyu" tells a story in the time of Xuangong (608 BC): One summer, when Lu Xuangong was going to Surabaya to cast a net for fishing, his subject Li Ge tore the net and threw it aside. , and publicized the principles of resource protection to Lu Xuangong.He said that since ancient times, only after the severe cold every year, at the time of spring, the "Shui Yu" (official name) who is in charge of the Kawasawa ban first explained the fishing methods, and then the ban was opened to let the people catch big fish.When birds and beasts are pregnant and aquatic animals are growing, the "Shou Yu" (official name) who is in charge of the ban on birds and animals promulgates the prohibition of hunting birds and beasts and the opening of fishing orders, which is for the normal growth and reproduction of birds and beasts.When the birds and beasts grow up and the aquatic animals give birth to reproduce, "Shuiyu" will implement the ban on fishing and the order to open the hunting of birds and beasts, so as to supply the birds and beasts with food.In addition, it is forbidden to cut twigs and small trees on the mountain, to cut young grass in the lake, to catch young fish, young animals, to take birds' eggs, and to kill small birds.These are all for the purpose of increasing the reproduction and production of vegetation, insects, fish, birds and animals. This is an ancient saying.Finally, Xuan Gong listened to the dissuasion and admitted his mistake.It can be seen from this story that at that time, not only did the protection of animal and plant resources be valued ideologically, but relatively strong concrete measures had already been taken.

Xunzi further developed the ideas of predecessors on resource protection.He said: "The rivers and abysses are deep, and the fish and turtles return to them; the mountains and forests are lush, and the birds and beasts return to them...The rivers and abysses are the abodes of dragons and fish; If you go there, the mountains and forests are dangerous, and the birds and beasts will go there." ("Xunzi Zhishi") here clearly pointed out the dependence relationship between biological populations and the environment.He believes that as long as we follow the nature and rationally develop and utilize biological resources according to the law of growth and decline of biological resources, then the resources will not be exhausted. "Xunzi King System" said: "The way of the group is right, all things are suitable, the six animals have their growth, and all things have their fate. Therefore, when raising and growing, the six animals will breed, and when killing animals, the trees will reproduce." It means It is said that as long as the conservation, fishing, hunting, harvesting, and felling are done at the right time, the animals, plants, and plants will prosper and prosper. The chapter "Wang Zhi" further elaborated on the specific measures: "When the vegetation is flourishing, the ax will not enter the mountains and forests, and it will not die, and it will not grow; At that time, the poisonous medicine does not enter the marshes, does not die, and does not cease to grow; spring plowing, summer cultivation, autumn harvest, and winter storage do not lose their time, so the five grains will not be exhausted, and the people have surplus food. Also; polluting pools, deep swamps, rivers and swamps should be restricted at the right time, so there are plenty of fish and turtles, and the people have spare time to use them; cutting down and raising them will not lose the right time, so the mountains and forests will not be young, but the people will have spare materials.” It is clearly pointed out that when When the vegetation is blooming and fruiting, it is not allowed to bring a knife and ax into the mountains to cut down trees, not to harm young creatures, and not to stop their growth and development; when fish and turtles and other creatures in the water are in the season of laying eggs and giving birth, it is not allowed to cast poisonous nets Fishing; if the four links of spring plowing, summer cultivation, autumn harvest, and winter storage can be grasped without delaying the farming season, then the five grains will continue to flow, and the people will have inexhaustible food.If the ban on regular fishing in ponds and rivers can be strictly observed, there will be more aquatic animals such as fish and turtles.If it can be felled and maintained regularly, then the mountains and forests will be lush, and the phenomenon of bare mountains will not appear, and the people will have inexhaustible wood.Starting from caring for the people and governing the country, Xunzi fully explained the scientific principles of protecting biological resources and set clear goals and specific requirements.He also listed the tasks of protecting biological resources and developing the economy such as "prohibiting hair with time", "raising mountains, forests, bushes, grass, fish and turtles" as important responsibilities of "Yu Shi" (officials who manage biological resources).

More than 2,000 years ago, some measures to protect biological resources had already been formulated and included in relevant legal provisions issued by policies. In 1975, Chinese archaeologists discovered a batch of bamboo slips from the Qin Dynasty in Shuihudi, Yunmeng County, Hubei Province.There is a section of Tianlu written like this: "In February in spring, don't dare to cut down the mountains and forests and Yongdi trees; if you don't have summer months, don't dare to turn grass into ashes at night, take raw lychee, 麛 [mimi] eggs, don't... poison Fish and turtles, put them aside, and let them go in July. Those who die innocently and cut down (coffins) to enjoy (coffins) are not in use." It means: in February in spring, burning grass as fertilizer is not allowed, and it is not allowed It is suitable for harvesting newly sprouted plants or hunting young animals.It is not allowed to poison fish, and it is not allowed to set traps and snares to catch birds and animals. The ban was not lifted until July.During the ban period, only those who need to cut wooden coffins due to death are exempt from this restriction.This field law is a specific legal provision on the protection of forests and biological resources in the pre-Qin period, and it has many similarities with some other documents, and runs through the idea of ​​prohibiting publication by time.

The "Twelve Disciplines" of "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" incorporated the relevant resource protection measures into the provisions of the "Moon Order", as follows: Meng Chunzhiyue: No logging, no overturning of nests, no killing of babies, no wombs, no eggs, no deer and no eggs (don’t kill deer and kill birds’ eggs). The month of mid-spring: There are no exhausted rivers, no ponds, no burning mountains and forests. The moon of Ji Chun: Hunting 罼 [bi must] Yi in the field, setting 罘 [fu Fu] nets, and feeding animals with medicine, there is no way out of the nine gates.

Mengxia Zhiyue: No felling of big trees, driving away animals without harming grains, no big field hunting. Midsummer's Moon: Let the people not cut blue for dyeing, and do not burn charcoal. The Moon of Ji Xia: Order the fishermen to cut down the jiao to get the scorpions, and raise the turtles to get the turtles.The trees are flourishing, and there is nothing or cutting down. Meng Qiuzhiyue: The eagle is a sacrificial bird, and it was first used to poke it. The Moon of Season Autumn: The grass and trees fall yellow and fall, but firewood is cut for charcoal. Midwinter Moon: When the day is short, cut down trees and take bamboo arrows.In the mountains and forests, there are those who can hunt birds and beasts in sparse food fields, and Ye Yu teaches them.

The core idea of ​​these provisions in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" is to protect the regenerative ability of biological resources. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" said very clearly: "If you exhaust the lake, you will not get it, but next year there will be no fish; if you burn the stalks and fields, will you not get it, and next year there will be no beasts." What a strong advice and appeal!These provisions were absorbed and disseminated in large quantities by later generations on "Moon Orders" and other documents, and became an important basis for later generations to formulate laws and regulations to protect biological resources.

In the Han Dynasty, Liu An, king of Huainan, further perfected and developed the pre-Qin thought on the rational development and protection of biological resources. "Huainanzi Zhushu Training" says: Food is the foundation of the people, the people are the foundation of the country, and the country is the foundation of the king.Therefore, as the lord of a country, the monarch must conform to the weather at the top, make full use of the land and products at the bottom, and use manpower rationally at the middle.In this way, all kinds of organisms can grow and multiply, and the five grains can grow well.It is necessary to educate the common people to raise six livestock, plant crops on time, trim the land, and plant mulberry and hemp.According to the level of soil fertility, different crops should be planted according to local conditions.If the hills and mountains are not suitable for planting crops, they will be planted with bamboo instead.Dead trees and dry branches can be harvested in spring, melons and fruits can be picked in summer, vegetables and food can be stored in autumn, and firewood can be cut in winter for the needs of the people's life.Therefore, the decrees of the former king stipulated that when hunting, it is not allowed to drive out the herds of animals, it is not allowed to kill young deer and small animals, and it is not allowed to exhaust the water to fish.Burning forests for hunting is not allowed.Before the hunting season in October, it is not allowed to hunt with nets in the wild.It is not allowed to cast nets before the fishing season.It is not possible to set up nets to catch birds in mountain valleys until June when eagles start to hunt birds (phenology).Until the time when the vegetation is yellow and falling, the ax cannot go into the mountains to cut.Insects that have not entered the hibernation period are not allowed to set fire to the fields, and pregnant animals are not allowed to be killed.It is not allowed to dig out bird eggs, and fishing is not allowed until the fish grows to a foot long.Pigs are not allowed to be slaughtered for less than one year.In this way, the growth of vegetation is like steam, the return of birds and beasts is like a flowing spring, endless, and the arrival of birds is like a cloud of smoke that covers the sky. These expositions in "Huainanzi" are a systematic summary of the pre-Qin biological resource protection policies.A series of specific measures for the protection of biological resources mentioned in the article reflect the characteristics of the close relationship between the rational development, utilization and protection of resources and agricultural production in ancient China.

The early ancient ideas of biological resource protection and the laws and regulations formulated had a certain influence on later generations.For example, in the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict in the fourth year of Xianheng (AD 673) to "prohibit the production of sai [sai] (a device made of bamboo and wood for cutting off water to catch fish), and camp to catch animals."According to the "Tang Book Baiguan Zhi", the Tang Dynasty also stipulated that "all suburban temples, altars, five famous mountains, woodcutters, grass, and animal husbandry are all prohibited, and farming is allowed 30 steps away from the Weiwei". Spring and summer are not Logging. Within 300 miles of Jingzhao and Henan Mansions, hunting with hunting birds is prohibited in the first month, May, and September." According to "Old Tang Book Five Elements", during Tang Zhongzong, there was a Shang Fang official who was in charge of making utensils for the court. The princess wove a wool skirt out of "hundred bird feathers", which "looks the same color when viewed from the front, looks the same color when viewed from the side, and looks the same color in the shadow, looks like a hundred birds, and can be seen in the shadow", worth millions.Then, the princess ordered Shang Fangguan to use "the hairs of all kinds of beasts as the face of Jian Jian, and see each of them in the shape of the original beast."As a result of "Princess Anle made a woolen skirt, the family of all officials took advantage of it", and as a result, "the feathers of strange birds and animals in Jiangling were exhausted."The wind of using a large number of rare birds and animals' feathers as clothing caused by the princess has severely damaged animal resources.This aroused the great attention of some North Korean and Chinese officials at that time.At the beginning of Kaiyuan (713 A.D.), the famous prime ministers Yao Chong and Song Jing repeatedly appealed to stop it.Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty finally adopted Yao Chong's opinion, "I ordered the strange clothes in the palace to be burned in the court, and the common people were not allowed to wear the clothes of splendid jewels and emeralds." It seems that the destruction of animal resources was quite serious at that time.Due to the decisive measures taken by Tang Xuanzong, this bad situation was finally reversed. Since then, "the harvesting has gradually ceased, and the wind has taught the day."

Due to the pressure of the population, the destruction of biological resources is becoming more and more serious. Therefore, the issue of resource protection has attracted more and more people's attention.In Fujian's "Dehua County Chronicles", it is recorded that Jie Yuan Guo Shangpin's concern and understanding of protecting biological resources in the late Qing Dynasty.Guo Shangpin wrote in the article "Hou Xili of Shangbaiyi Asked for Prohibition Drugs to Take Fish": "Since the world has the virtue of good life, the emperor's heart is to raise animals. It must be used for guest sacrifices, (the character goes to 彳) [ Xing shape〕People fish but don't use nets. Several knuckles are put into the pond, and it has been strictly forbidden for three generations. People in modern times are not ancient, and the setting of fishing nets is very fine. There are those who peck them, some build fish nests to lure them, and some make stone beams to cover them. With all kinds of facilities, the aquarium has almost no physiology. There is also a method of harvesting, thickly decocting poison, pouring it into streams, ten or twenty miles, the size There are no fish and shrimp left behind. It is a great harm to the virtue of the world and good life, which is contrary to the emperor's heart of nurturing animals. Its currency is bound to be harmful to people because of poison." It is saddened by the practice, pointing out that the indiscriminate killing not only kills all aquatic organisms and loses their ability to regenerate, but also poisons the human body.He suggested that "the four communities should be banned. Regardless of the streams and ponds, they are not allowed to use poison and take advantage of it. If they dare to violate it, they will be punished according to the law. The fruit of this law is not only one year in Deyi. Life, and it can prevent those who eat fish from getting sick due to poisoning... If the matter of taking poison from fish is strictly prohibited, then the benevolent people will push it to love things. The root of prosperity may not be here.”Guo Shangpin advocates strictly prohibiting indiscriminate hunting and protecting the normal reproductive ability of resources, and believes that this is the "foundation of prosperity", which is undoubtedly very correct.