The politics of eco-civilization construction generally involves the understanding and interpretation of ecological civilization, an emerging public policy issue field, from the perspective of political science. Therefore, it can be considered a subfield in comparative politics or issue-based politics. On the other hand, it also encompasses implications in the realm of political philosophy, particularly concerning the relationships between man and nature, economy and environment, individuals and society, as well as domestic and international. The politics of eco-civilization construction drives vital support both in research contents and methods from the established field of environmental politics and its theoretical achievements. Moreover, it goes beyond that foundation by significantly expanding and transforming such aspects as research domains, academic discourses, and subject perspectives. As a result, it can perceptibly depict the distinctive qualitative characteristics of China’s environmental politics in the new era in terms of theory and practice. Under the discourse system of environmental politics, there emerge discussions on political theories of ecoMarxism or eco-socialism, and the ecoMarxism social movements and party politics. These discussions present varying political understandings and public policy responses to the same ecological and environmental issues. However, from the perspective of the politics of ecocivilization construction, the debate and inquiry regarding the socialist qualitative characteristics or political philosophy become a particularly prominent issue, which not only bears relevance to the overall landscape but also shapes future directions.

Confucianists advocate the holistic cosmology of “harmony between humanity and nature and unity of all things,” the ethical pursuit of “loving all people and things and treating them as brothers, sisters and companions,” and the practical guideline of “taking from nature at the proper time and to the proper extent.” These are not only the core values of Confucian ecological culture, but also the concentrated embodiment of Confucian thinking in the ecological field. In the context of the new era, the ecological theory resources in Confucianism can provide ideological resources for reflecting on anthropocentric values. Furthermore, it can provide inspiration and reference for breaking through the bottleneck of environmental ethics, ultimately offering cultural support for the construction of ecological civilization in the new era. Under the guidance of Marxism, we should interpret the ecological cultural view of Confucianism in a modern way, realize the modern transformation of Confucian ecological culture, and advance the construction of ecological civilization in the new era with heightened cultural awareness.

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The essence of national governance modernization is to continuously uphold its intrinsic goodness. The goodness of national governance depends on its ethical rationality, which in turn relies on the value positioning of ecological ethics. Throughout the process of eco-civilization construction, the central objective of China’s national governance modernization is to steer China towards a path that aligns with ecological ethics. The modernization of China’s national governance is exemplified by the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) endeavor to lead the people to follow ecological rationality and govern the country in accordance with the fundamental principles and spirit of ecological ethics. As a result, the objective of achieving harmony between humanity and nature can be realized through effective governance, particularly by means of ecological good governance. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the CPC has continuously explored and practiced the ethical relationship between humanity and nature, adapting it to the Chinese context and the needs of our times. It has been steadfast in its commitment to advancing a course of ecological good governance as part of China’s endeavor to modernize its national governance. Mao Zedong emphasized initiatives such as afforestation, soil and water conservation, and resource management to enhance the human living environment. Deng Xiaoping underscored the importance of laws and systems in the effective implementation of ecological ethics. Jiang Zemin stressed the importance of coordination and harmony between humanity and nature. Hu Jintao introduced the Scientific Outlook on Development, aligning it with the needs of contemporary and future development. General Secretary Xi Jinping embraces the concepts of ecological ethics in the new era: respect for nature, ecological protection, and shared responsibilities and rights. Based on this, Xi Jinping views the natural world as a community of life that promotes harmony between humanity and nature. This perspective nurtures a world of life that upholds ecological ethics and aligns with the demands of the new era. The theoretical objective of ecological ethics with Chinese characteristics is to formulate a moral philosophy that applies to China’s contemporary endeavors in ecocivilization construction, and the practical objective is to establish normative ethics that correspond to the principles of China’s eco-civilization construction.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed to advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. The Party underscores the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature as one of the five characteristics of Chinese modernization, assigning a new historical mission to construct ecological civilization in the new era. While industrial civilization has propelled monumental advancements in the overall productive forces of human society and generated unprecedented material wealth, it has concurrently escalated the tension in the relationship between humanity and nature. Addressing the ecological crisis and fostering the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature is not discretionary but essential for all human beings to tackle the challenges we face and build a community with a shared future. Philosophically, the philosophy of human dominance over nature is reaching its limits, and the current era necessitates the development of a philosophical framework that revolves around the harmony between humanity and nature. It is incumbent upon us, under the expansive vision of history, to persevere in “two integrations” and draw from traditional Chinese ecological wisdom, Marxist views on the relationship between humanity and nature, as well as Xi Jinping’s Thought on Ecological Civilization. These efforts aim to establish the Chinese school of environmental ethics, develop a discourse system of Chinese Marxist ecological philosophy, and ultimately guide the unfolding of a novel chapter in human civilization.

Ecological civilization, as a new model required for the sustainable development of contemporary society, has been developed on the basis of a certain ecological ethical order. The critical reflection on traditional modes of social development and ways of thinking serves as the foundation for constructing the contemporary concepts of ecological ethics. The traditional philosophical resources are the theoretical sources for the construction of the contemporary concepts of ecological ethics. Since Laozi’s philosophy is highly compatible with the contemporary concepts of ecological ethics, the content and ways Laozi used to interpret human beings and society may provide valuable ideological resources for the contemporary concepts of ecological ethics.

Since Confucian philosophy is essentially an ecological philosophy, the concept of “ecological Confucianism” can indeed be established. Confucianism divides nature into four types of objects, namely, animals, plants, land, and mountains and rivers, and presents ecological understanding and treatment measures for these elements across the three dimensions of religion, morality, and politics and law. Ecological Confucianism features a category system composed of concepts such asqi气(a vital force), tong 通 (communication), he 和 (harmony), sheng 生 (life), shi 时 (time), dao 道 (Way) and ren 仁(benevolence). It also encompasses an ecological view composed of ecological ontology, ecological theory of kung fu, and ecological theory of visionary world. Furthermore, it carries a history of development with intrinsic logical connections. Confucian philosophy advocates for spiritual harmony, interpersonal harmony, social harmony, and international harmony, which are all based on the harmony between humanity and nature. Ecological Confucianism can not only facilitate the understanding of Confucian philosophy and even Chinese philosophy, but also contribute to advancing the breakthroughs of philosophy itself. It prompts us to reconsider the concepts of “subject” and “object,” and rebuild the theory of subject-object relationship, thus leading to the second enlightenment within the realm of world philosophy.

Philosophy is the research of nature, individuals, society, and their noumena. The fundamental question of Chinese philosophy revolves around the relationship between Heaven and humans, while the meta-question is about how humans should live in the world. To address these questions, Chinese philosophy has established a framework with six components: the theory of benyuan, the theory of human nature, the theory of human mind, the theory of life, ethics, and politics. Among them, the transcendental theory of benyuan and the theory of human nature constitute metaphysics, the theory of life, ethics, and politics, which take real life as the research object, constitute physics, and the theory of human mind, fall under a philosophical discipline positioned conceptually between metaphysics and physics could be named as metaphysical physics (shang er xia xue). The presence of philosophy within Chinese traditional thoughts is underscored by the use of metaphysics as a criterion for judging the existence of philosophical elements in a system of thought.

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In the 1980s, Meng Peiyuan proposed the “Chinese theory of heart nature,” which classified Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism in traditional Chinese philosophy as “the theory of heart nature.” This is an original perspective, which not only summarizes the commonalities of the heart nature theories of various schools, but also emphasizes the characteristics of heart nature theories of Confucianism. The “Chinese theory of heart nature” is the product of the “Emotional Reason School” in contemporary philosophy, involving “New Confucianism,” “Emotional Confucianism,” “Life Confucianism,” “Free Confucianism,” “Spirit Confucianism,” and so on. However, for Meng Peiyuan’s Emotional Confucianism, the “Chinese theory of heart nature” is actually just an early transitional concept. The traditional theory of heart nature is not the thought of all Confucian schools, let alone Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius, but rather a philosophical construction of NeoConfucianism in Song and Ming dynasties. Its philosophical essence belongs to the subjective philosophy of traditional ontology, so it is necessary to accept the reflection of the forefront of contemporary philosophical thought, namely, to accept the inquiry of “why subjectivity is possible.” Therefore, the contemporary transformation of the heart nature theory means deconstructing the old theory of heart nature, tracing back to the life situation of presubjectivity, and thus reconstructing subjectivity and its heart nature, especially the individual subjectivity of modernity.

Ethic and morality are key concepts for understanding ethics and moral philosophy. In previous research, the two notions are often indistinguishable and even interchangeable, because they share the same origin in terms of meaning, both referring to social customs, habits, protocols, and so forth. However, the development of academic history reveals important distinctions between ethics and morality, even regarding which of them holds the authority to interpret the other. For example, Hegel elevated morality to ethic, while Li Zehou advocated the study of morality from the perspective of ethic. Their studies indicate that ethics and morality have synchronic interpretations, meaning that they can be explained mutually. An obvious trend in the development of contemporary ethics is the gradual departure from the “stereotype” that “ethics is moral philosophy,” moving instead towards engaging with and serving the real and new “human relations” world with a broader horizon in a unique manner, thus achieving the “free development” characterized by distinction yet not separation from moral philosophy. This will propel moral philosophy to be oriented towards the shaping of individual virtues, and ethics to the regulation of interest relationships over ethical entities. In this context, it may become feasible to conceptualize morality without ethical norms and ethics without moral imperatives, and resolve the dispute between so-called virtue ethics and normative ethics.

Han Feizi’s understanding of human nature is far more complicated than the doctrine of evil human nature. He acknowledges that there is goodness in human nature, and it could render people to live peacefully in affluence. But in scarcity, the goodness in human nature becomes ineffective, and the pursuit of material profit becomes the main driver of human actions. While the majority can only calculate short-term material interests, the minority can do long-term planning. Besides, vanity, a unique quality of human, is a secondary driving force of human actions. Han Feizi acknowledges that only a handful of people can transcend the pursuit of material profit and vanity, and hold onto virtues instead. However, these people are the disruptors of a political regime, and should not be encouraged. Han Feizi argues that the avoidance of harm is a more powerful driving force, compared with the pursuit of profit, in which he emphasizes punishment rather than reward in regulating people’s behaviors.

The consciousness of human community is based on the search for universality. According to the different paths of the search for universality, the understanding of human community in Chinese philosophy can be divided into different types, such as governance community, natural community, Heaven-man community, and moral community. In terms of governance community, Chinese philosophy pursues a kind of universal governance order, recognizing “human nature and the Way of Heaven” with the same consciousness. In terms of natural community, Chinese philosophy pursues the universality of natural consistency, establishes an overall mode of interpretation of the world on the basis of the way of nature. In terms of Heaven-man community, Chinese philosophy believes that there exists a transcendent universal Way of Heaven, and that adherence to the law of unity of the Way of Heaven enables human life to transcend specific differences and move towards harmony and consistency. In terms of moral community, Chinese philosophy takes the path of constructing a universal moral metaphysical ontology as a means of debating the universality of the moral ontology and its way of functioning, thereby realizing the ideal state of the unity of all things. Creative transformation and innovative development of the pursuit of universality and the consciousness of human community associated with traditional Chinese philosophy can highlight the significance of Chinese philosophy to the world.

The contemporary Yi-ology has achieved many results in the aspects of classic restoration, philosophical elucidation, the history of Yi-ology, and science-based Yi-ology, which far-surpassed previous Yi-ology in both of depth and breadth. However, with the changes of the times and the development of academic culture, the problems in Yi-ology are becoming increasingly prominent, such as the lack of macroscopic vision, the new breakthrough methodology, the concern to reality, and substantial academic interactions. The future studies of Yi-ology will focus on enriching and summarizing existing research, exploring new fields, starting from the original texts, addressing current realities, and establishing a new Yi-ology system through mutual engagement of Chinese and Western philosophy and culture from a global perspective. This approach aims to facilitate the global dissemination of Yiology and its active participation in international dialogue.

Chinese philosophy is a philosophy based on “home” rather than merely a philosophy about the home. “Home” is the origin from which the individual emerges. Heaven and Earth are the origins from which humanity emerges. Human knowledge and thought allow individuals to transcend the undifferentiated unity of “home,” becoming individual existences while also endowing themselves with a universal ethical mode of existence. Returning to oneself through the act of departure becomes the inevitable way to realize human existence. Civilization, as a rational forward movement, is inevitably accompanied by the obscuration of ignorance, causing individuals to deviate from their true essence. The realization of human existence inherently contains a dimension of returning to one’s original essence within its forward movement. In the depths of the human soul, there is an original and persistent nostalgia for “home.” Chinese philosophy emphasizes “knowing where to stop,” with Daoism advocating “having become remote, it returns” and Confucianism advocating “returning from a short distance,” which aims to maintain a balanced tension between advancement and stopping, preserving the holistic significance of human existence. Humans, as holistic beings, grasp themselves and their surrounding world in an original modal way. Human existence originates from “home,” with the closest emotional expression being “kinship.” “Home” and “kinship” serve as intermediaries or bridges for individuals to realize universal love for themselves and others, extending to “loving the people and all things.” This universality, founded on the premise of difference, bestows the image and meaning of “home.” Thus, human self-identity and the development of civilization can achieve their authentic significance and rational foundation. The modal existence approach followed by Chinese philosophy presents a unique spiritual direction for the future development of philosophy.

In contrast to Western intellectualism and Indian spiritualism, Chinese culture is characterized by a virtue-oriented spirit that emphasizes morality and goodness. Amidst the impact of Western culture, numerous scholars and official documents have explored, argued for, and articulated this overarching spirit. The virtue-oriented spirit of Chinese culture is primarily manifested in the following aspects: morality as a distinctive feature in the formation and development of Chinese culture; morality as the core of all cultural elements; the supremacy of morality as fundamental to Confucian doctrine; and morality as the essence of cultural identity and daily life for the populace. The core and essence of promoting the fine traditional Chinese culture lie in fostering the virtue-oriented spirit of Chinese culture. This virtue-oriented spirit holds significant contemporary value in guiding and integrating society, harmonizing interpersonal relationships, and cultivating noble character.

The relationship between the body and mind is one of the most important topics in Chinese and Western philosophies. Wang Yangming held the view that “body, mind, consciousness, conscience, and things are one piece,” and the five elements are integrated and inseparable, which together form the “true self” of “integration with the world and all things,” namely, the “big self.” The “big self” represents the original field of pre-objectification, pre- cognition, and pre-theorization. In general, “mind” is the induction of the original field; “body” is the manifestation of the original field. However, due to the self-objectification of consciousness, people cling to the “body’s self” and fall into the “small self” separated from others: “body” becomes the physiological basis relative to the mind, consciousness, conscience and things, and “consciousness” becomes the psychological activity relative to the body, mind, conscience and things, so there is a relationship of “non-uniformity and non- difference” between body and consciousness. Wang Yangming’s discussion of body and mind is not focused on the feeling and cognition under the interaction of physiology and psychology at the level of “small self,” but on returning to the original “big self” to realize the settlement of life, involving cosmology, ontology, and other broader perspectives. In this regard, it is possible for Chinese and Western philosophies to learn from each other in the discussion of the body and mind.

"Whether emotions can serve as the foundation for morality is what emotional ethics concerns and involves in the first place. Based on the theory of inherent humanity, pre Qin Confucian scholars established the foundation of ethics and morality by distinguishing humans from animals, that is, the “ease of heart” indicates the dynamics and rationality of humanity. They regarded “being true to conscience” and “ease of heart” as the basis for moral behavior. The heart is the source of moral consciousness, and its ease is the foundation of moral behavior. Morality is rooted in people’s natural needs and physical feelings. It concerns the self and evokes a sense of home. “Ease” is not only about ease of conscience but also involves benevolence, righteousness, and etiquette. The ease of heart represents a unity of “emotion and rationality” and “conscience and norms.” This paper reconstructs the basic problem domain of Confucian ethics of emotion from the perspectives of “what is ease,” “where to be at ease,” and “how to be at ease,” reflects on the dilemma posed when interpreting the dichotomy between emotion and rationality, and attempts to explore a “thick concept” approach to interpreting Confucian ethics, so as to better demonstrate the spiritual origin and embodied thinking characteristics of Confucian ethics."

Throughout the history of Chinese philosophy, philosophers have interpreted humans and the world from different perspectives. Contemporary scholars have proposed new views and perspectives to deepen our understanding and insight into humans and the world. Against this background, the concepts of “viewing through affairs” and the “intention noumenon theory” deal with humans and the world through the lenses of “affairs” and “intention” respectively. The perspective of “viewing through affairs” marks a progression from “concrete metaphysics,” and “affairs” are presented as the concrete implementation of “concrete metaphysics.” “Viewing through affairs” is mainly characterized by “originality,” “unity,” and “concreteness.” “Originality” serves as the foundation, “unity” represents the negation of the “division of existence,” and “concreteness” signifies the triumph over “abstractness.” The “intention noumenon theory” seeks to interpret humans and the world from the perspective of “intention,” viewing the world from three dimensions: “creation of intention,” “actualization of intention,” and “generation of the realm of intention.” The perspectives of “intention” and “affairs” have something in common in understanding humans and the world, allowing them to blend with each other. “Intention” initiates the understanding of humans and the world, while “affairs” represent the specific implementation; intention catalyzes the generation of affairs, and in turn, affairs embody intentional actualization. Through diverse perspectives, we can get a more profound and comprehensive understanding of humans and the world.

The concept of “inner sage and outer king” (neisheng waiwang 内圣外王) first appeared in Zhuangzi, later evolving to become the Confucian Way (Dao 道 ). Daoist sages and Confucian sages are inconsistent in terms of inner sage due to the fundamental starting point of their thoughts and the way of thinking and reasoning, and thus the ways of their inner sage have their own characteristics and are inseparable. Regarding outer king, Confucian sages are more proactively concerned with real politics and social life, and the way of the king is richer and stronger. Confucian “inner sage” and “outer king” take “body” as the coordinate, and the directions of force are different, one being inward while the other being outward, but the two are actual one, unified in the ideal personality of the saint. From a modern perspective, Confucian “inner sage and outer king” features historical rationality and realistic vitality, and constitutes our valuable thought resources for the creative transformation and development of the fine traditional Chinese culture nowadays. That said, it has its historical limitations.

The two passages, “Li Lou II” of the Mencius 孟子·离娄下 (Mencius 2A.2) and “Gongsun Chou I” of the Mencius 孟子·公孙丑上 (Mencius 4B.26), have been difficult to undestand for readers of all times. However, according to the hermeneutic circle, i. e., works of the same time must have shared the same concepts, topics, and writing style, if they are to be interpreted from the perspective of the Zhuangzi, these two passages will be easy to understand. Based on this interpretation, deliberation (gu 故) in “Gongsun Chou I” means deliberation or craft, which comes close to the meaning of wisdom (zhi 智) and thus facilitates our understanding of the whole passage. In “Li Lou II,” Gaozi’s words, “If words are not satisfactory to me, I will not let them trouble my mind; if something does not produce satisfactory result in my mind, I will not let them influence my qi 气 ” disclose a spiritual realm as high as that stated in Chapter 12 “Heaven and Earth” of the Zhuangzi 庄子·天地: “Though the world might praise him and say he had really found something, he would look unconcerned and never turn his head; though the world might condemn him and say he had lost something, he would look serene and pay no heed.” What is more, Mencius’ “unperturbed mind (bu dong xin 不动心)” is actually the vast, flowing spiritual realm (haoran zhi qi 浩 然之气) which results from abiding by righteousness, and this realm keeps quite a distance from Zhuangzi’s detached mind in the face of right and wrong, which is achieved by “the fasting of mind (xin zhai 心斋).”

The mainstream of modern Western philosophy is a subjective philosophy based on mind-body dualism. Unlike Western philosophy, which mainly concerns being, Chinese philosophy, represented by Confucianism, highlights life and living. Most modern Chinese philosophers readily embrace materialism owing to the longstanding tradition of qi philosophy in China. This form of materialism, however, is not mechanical materialism, as it is not based on dualism. The zoeontological subject is established based on body-mind monism. It is closely related to two philosophical propositions: the cosmology of the philosophy of qi, and the notion of human beings as the heart of cosmos, thereby providing an initial outline of the philosophy of zoeontology.

The concept of “common good” takes on various theoretical forms throughout the histories of both Chinese and Western philosophies. In “Identification with the Superior” of Mozi 墨子·尚同, Mozi endeavored to create an ideal community and advocated “unification of righteousness in the world.” He sought to integrate the complex and diverse individual wills into a collective community will, promoting the pursuit of the overall interests (“common righteousness”). According to the “common good” theory, the political proposition of “identification with the superior” (shang tong 尚同) does not represent a form of despotism but an “integrated common good” that emphasizes the “common righteousness” shared by all people. This “common good” theory encompasses two dimensions: “identification with Heaven” and “identification with the people.” Both of the dimensions underline the pursuit of “common righteousness.” Mozi’s idea of “identification with the superior” can enrich the “common good” theories in the world and highlight the universal significance of traditional Chinese political thought and the distinctive path of thinking based on the universal significance.

"Since the implementation of the reform and opening up, China has made substantial progress and significant achievements in ethics research, leading to the establishment of a well rounded discipline system and the development of a distinctive research tradition. While it is essential to uphold tradition, it is equally important to transcend it. In future ethics research, we should transcend the traditional approach dominated by learning and imitating Western philosophy and organizing historical materials, and progress towards a more advanced stage that emphasizes innovative development. The new generation of scholars should effectively utilize mainstream academic resources, especially the main spirit reflected therein. While showing respect and appreciation for the theoretical contributions of earlier generations of ethics scholars, they should expand their horizons to foster an ethics research pattern and atmosphere that align with the new era."

Both Western and Chinese civilizations have constructed ethical worlds based on the structures of family and state. In the Western “country” civilization, the fate of this ethical world is marked by a “tragic sentiment,” whereas in the Chinese Guojia civilization, the cultural conditions and ethical spirit are characterized by “family-state sentiment.” This sentiment transcends mere family spirit or patriotism, embodying an integrated ethical sentiment that encompasses the individual, family, state, and all under Heaven. The ethical wisdom of family-state justice in Guojia civilization comprises both everyday wisdom and extraordinary wisdom. Everyday wisdom permeates the entire life and existence of individuals, manifesting through various national festivals. Extraordinary wisdom refers to the ethical wisdom that reconciles conflicts between family and state, historically and logically unfolding into two traditional forms: the state-centered “loyalty to the country” and the family-centered “mutual concealment out of kinship loyalty.” The issue of family-state ethical justice has accompanied the century-long process of modern Chinese civilization, from the Chinese revolution to the reform and opening-up period. This process reflects a dialectical progression of “ethical construction—ethical revolution—ethical liberation.” Modern Chinese civilization remains the Guojia civilization but has evolved into new forms and faces new challenges. It is imperative to achieve creative transformation and innovative development of the Guojia civilization through communal ethical justice, contributing to the creation of a new form of human civilization marked by distinct Chinese characteristics.

Developing a socialist moral evaluation system with Chinese characteristics should be rooted in the dynamic practice and practical needs of building socialism with Chinese characteristics while drawing on the intellectual resources and philosophical wisdom from the historical evolution of Chinese society and its rich cultural traditions. Traditional Chinese society has embraced a pluralistic moral cultural philosophy, creating a multifaceted moral evaluation system that integrates Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist elements. This system, marked by distinct Chinese characteristics, recognizes the moral values of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism as valid moral standards, applying them in various contexts to assess people’s moral attitudes towards work, achievements, and other aspects, thus forming a diverse pattern of traditional Chinese moral evaluations. This pluralistic moral evaluation system serves as a value beacon for the moral life of the Chinese nation in traditional society and continues to offer significant moral guidance in present-day Chinese society. The traditional Chinese moral evaluation system remains a powerful force in shaping the moral character of the present-day Chinese nation and promoting moral positivity, providing valuable insights for the development of a socialist moral evaluation system with Chinese characteristics.