From “Governance” to “Non-Intervention”: An Ecological Interpretation of “Reversal is the Movement of the Dao” in Through the Arc of the Rain Forest

Abstract

The current world ecological crisis is rooted in the logic of “human governance” dominated by the Western linear developmentalism,which is objectifying nature and controlling it through technological interventions. Academics believe that such logic can be traced back to Western Christian anthropocentrism, and the tragedy of Matacao rainforest development presented by Karen Yamashita in Through the Arc of the Rain Forest profoundly reveals the ecological evils of such linear thinking: the colonizers’forced transformation of the rainforest ecosystem through “progressive” initiatives such as road construction and resource extraction, which eventually led to the spread of plague and cultural collapse, is a perfect illustration of the ancient warning of “Acting rashly leads to misfortune(Chapter 16 of the Tao Te Ching)”, that human-induced changes to the natural process will ultimately result in a reversal of the consequences. Although the idea of “Deep Ecology” put forward by Arne Naess in 1973 criticized anthropocentrism, it has not yet transcended the linear logic of “human management of nature” and is unable to solve the problem at all. In the novel, the tenacious vitality of the rainforest system for self-repair,the survival wisdom of the aboriginal people of “adapting to the natural cycle and retreating at the right time,” and Kazumasa Ishimaru’s eventual choice of “returning to the nature” exactly echoes the Taoist cycle philosophy of “Reversal is the movement of the Dao (Chapter 40 of Tao Te Ching)”, which points out the fundamental way out of today’s ecological governance with the wisdom of cyclicity, transformation of opposites, and reversal to the roots. The core revelation is that ecological governance does not lie in more powerful technological interventions, but rather in the way of returning of “Attain utmost emptiness;preserve deepest stillness (Chapter 16 of Tao Te Ching)”------recognizing the subjective status of nature, respecting its ability to self-regulate, and not going against what nature has done. The way to solve the contemporary ecological crisis may lie in the reverse thought of this millennium classic.