【Building a Community of Life on Earth and Culture】
Author: Fan Jianhua (Special Researcher, Yunnan Provincial Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics)
●Information cards
Yunnan is located in the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, bordering Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and other countries in the west and south, with a total length of 4,061 kilometers and a total area of 394,000 square kilometers. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, with a step-like decrease, the highest altitude is the main peak of Meili Snow Mountain in Deqin County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, with a height of 6740 meters; the lowest point is at the confluence of Nanlakou and Honghe River in Hekou County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, with an altitude of only 76.4 meters. The landform is diverse, the northwest alpine longitudinal valleys and rivers are deep and relatively broken; the central plateau surface is relatively intact, forming the main alpine basin - dam; the south and southeast form a karst landform between flat dams and hills. The six major rivers of The Irrawaddy River, nu river, Lancang river, Jinsha river, red river and Nanpan river constitute the main hydrological vein of Yunnan. Between the six major river systems, there are nine plateau lakes such as Dianchi Lake, Erhai Lake and Fuxian Lake, as well as many reservoirs and natural lakes of varying sizes.
Shane, a Hani woman from Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, and her husband became rich by running an ecological chicken farm. Xinhua News Agency
Views of the Napa Sea Wetland in Shangri-La, Yunnan. Xinhua News Agency
Asian elephant breeding and rescue centre staff feed rescued baby elephants. Xinhua News Agency
1. Hot spots in biodiversity hotspots
The special geographical landform and altitude of different latitudes have enabled Yunnan to form a three-dimensional and diverse climate zone, with seven climate types: northern tropical, south Asian tropical, central subtropical, northern subtropical, southern temperate zone, middle temperate zone and plateau climate zone (northern temperate zone). Yunnan is located in the core and intersection of the three major regional cores of "China's Western Mountains", "Eastern Himalayas" and "Indo-Myanmar Region" among the 36 "most species-rich and threatened" terrestrial biodiversity hotspots in the world. Complex and diverse climatic types, geographical landforms and special regional locations have bred Yunnan's rich biodiversity.
Yunnan is the province with the richest biodiversity in China, and it is also the origin and differentiation center of many species, known as the "animal kingdom", "plant kingdom" and "species gene bank". Yunnan accounts for only 4.1% of the country's area, but it includes all the types of ecosystems on the earth except oceans and deserts, and the number of major biological group species is close to or more than half of the country. Relevant statistics show that Yunnan has recorded a total of 25434 species, of which 2729 species of macroflurgy, accounting for 56.9% of the country; 1067 species of lichens, accounting for 60.4% of the country; 19333 species of higher plants, accounting for 50.1% of the country, there are crops and wild nearly 1,000 species of nearly 1,000 species, is the origin center and differentiation center of Asian cultivated rice, buckwheat, tea, sugarcane and other crops, of which the five-needle pine in Qiaojia County, the moss of Mile City, the rare tree species such as Yang hao in Yang County are only distributed in Yunnan worldwide There are 2273 species of vertebrates distributed, accounting for 52.1% of the country, of which 242 species of wild vertebrates under national key protection. In addition, Yunnan also has more than 11,000 species of insects, 366 species of freshwater fish, 776 species of birds, green peacock, Nujiang golden snub-nosed monkey, white-palmed gibbon, Tianxing gibbon, Asian elephant and so on are the only species distributed in Yunnan.
2. Biodiversity fosters cultural diversity
Culture is the sum of human activities that human beings have constantly created, enriched and innovated in the long history of relying on nature, adapting to nature and transforming nature. Biodiversity is the precondition and material basis of cultural diversity - if the geographical environment and climate affect the habitat of species communities, then the natural ecology and community survival mode give birth to different cultural forms, that is, the unique geographical environment and climate type form the rich biodiversity of Yunnan, which has bred a variety of cultural diversity and created a classic example of human civilization progress.
The total population (permanent population) of Yunnan is 47.2093 million, of which the number of ethnic minorities is 16.2126 million, accounting for 33.6% of the total population of the province. In addition to the Han chinese, there are 25 ethnic minorities with a population of more than 6,000 people, including Yi, Hani, Bai and Dai. Among them, the 15 ethnic groups of Hani, Bai, Dai, Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Naxi, Jingpo, Brown, Pumi, Achang, Nu, Kino, Deang and Dulong are unique to Yunnan.
In terms of ethnic origin, the 26 ethnic groups in Yunnan are mainly derived from the three major ethnic groups in ancient China, namely the ethnic groups of the Qiang system, such as the Yi, Bai, Tibetan, and Naxi ethnic groups; the Baiyue system ethnic groups, such as Zhuang, Dai, Buyi, Shui and other ethnic groups; and the Baipu system ethnic groups, such as Wa, Brown, Deang and other ethnic groups. There are obvious differences in production and life, social organization, literature and art, religious etiquette and other aspects of ethnic groups living in different regions. It is not difficult to find that the root cause of this difference is the diverse geographical environment, climatic conditions, and genetic differences of species in Yunnan. In the long years, whether living in high mountains or deep valleys, whether in Pingba or mountain peaks, or living by the river, the people of all ethnic groups in Yunnan have created a rich and colorful national culture in the process of understanding nature, adapting to nature and using nature.
3. Ecological and cultural enlightenment of Xishuangbanna Tropical Rainforest
We use two examples, the Dai people living in the tropical rainforest and the Tibetan people living in the snowy plateau, to describe the intrinsic relationship between Yunnan's cultural diversity and geographical environment and biodiversity.
Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture is located on the northern edge of the tropic of cancer south of the Tropic of Cancer, with a tropical monsoon climate with abundant sunshine and abundant rainfall, with an annual rainfall of 1136 to 1513 mm and an average annual temperature of 18.9 to 22.6 °C. It is the most well-preserved area of tropical ecosystems in China, with 1,516,600 hectares of forests, more than 5,000 species of higher plants, 762 species of vertebrates, 427 species of birds, 108 species of mammals, 74 species of reptiles, and 100 species of fish. In addition, Xishuangbanna is also an important birthplace of the world's rice civilization and one of the key origins of the world's tea.
The Dai people, who live in the tropical rainforest for thousands of years, have created a set of production and lifestyles adapted to the rainforest environment. The ancient ancestors here created an ancient rice civilization in the gathering economy, making the cultivation of rice the most important production method here, and the associated buffalo domestication and cattle farming paddy fields also came into being. The local area is mainly dominated by bamboo buildings and dry column buildings. Here is rich in dragon bamboo, thick and strong, can be used as a frame such as house pillars and beams, while thatch can shield the wind and rain, and the permeability is excellent, thereby enhancing the living comfort of the house. Dry-column buildings can not only avoid direct contact with wetlands to facilitate physical health, but also prevent insects and snakes from invading and injuring. The choice of bamboo and thatch as building materials is the scientific choice made by the Dai ancestors in the production practice, in the process of understanding and utilizing nature, thus forming a unique Dai bamboo building dry column architectural culture.
In addition to the formation of material and culture closely related to the geographical environment and biodiversity of Xishuangbanna, the formation of the Dai national character and the creation of spiritual culture are also directly related to the ecological environment in which they live. Living in the waterfront area of the dam area makes the local people's personality contain water-like tenderness, diligence and kindness, politeness to others, and emphasis on harmonious coexistence. As the old Dai proverb says, "Where there is trees, there is water, there is field, and only when there is field can there be grain..." The Dai people have a strong view of mountain forest worship. In the traditional knowledge system of the Dai people, the protection of forests and the love of nature are necessary, they live in primitive tropical rainforests, but they never cut down a single tree casually. Each village planted a tree species dedicated to firewood, iron knife wood, in front of the house and in the corner of the field. Artistic inspiration such as the music and dance of the Dai people is also derived from nature, such as the representative peacock dance in the Dai dance and the myth and legend "Zhao Shu Tun and Mu Mu Nona", all of which are derived from the rare species of green peacock unique to the xishuangbanna tropical rainforest.
4. Ecological and cultural enlightenment of Diqing Snowy Plateau
Comparing the tropical rainforest with the Dai culture, let's take a look at how the Diqing Tibetans tenaciously and tenaciously created a splendid Tibetan culture on the snowy plateau of northwest Yunnan.
Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located in the Hengduan Mountain Range, which extends from north to south, and is located in the core area of the Jinsha River, Lancang River and Nu River, which flow together as a World Natural Heritage Site. The highest altitude in the territory is 6740 meters, the main peak of meili snow mountain Kawagebo peak, the lowest altitude of 1486 meters in the Lancang River valley, the huge height difference in a small range makes the vertical climate and three-dimensional ecological environment characteristics here, and the low latitude and high altitude make the local temperate-cold temperate climate, with an average annual temperature of 4.7 to 16.5 °C. Here is known as the "animal and plant kingdom", higher plants up to 187 families of more than 5,000 species, of which more than 30 kinds of national first- and second-class protected tree species, is the world-famous flower rhododendron, primrose, gentian, green velvet artemisia and other distribution centers; more than 1,400 species of wild animals, including more than 80 kinds of national first- and second-class protected animals, including Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, black-necked crane, snow leopard, forest musk, brown bear, etc.; the territory has a total of more than 9 million mu of grassland, of which about 6.3 million mu of usable grassland, is the largest natural pasture in Yunnan.
Special natural ecosystems determine the production lifestyle and cultural type of human beings. Like the Dai people of Xishuangbanna, the Tibetan people of Diqing have lived and developed on the snowy plateau for generations. Due to the high altitude and cold climate, the Tibetan people of Diqing mainly grow hardy and drought-resistant barley, oats and potatoes, and the farming method originates from the "two cattle lifting bar" in the plateau area. Due to the vast area of natural pasture, animal husbandry has become the dominant industry in agriculture, and due to altitude and climatic reasons, yak has become a core element of animal husbandry – in contrast, buffalo living in places such as Xishuangbanna cannot survive on the Diqing Plateau, which is the result of natural selection. Due to the cold climate and large fat consumption, the main food of the local Tibetan people is mainly beef and mutton, and due to the limitations of property, eating barley noodles and drinking butter tea has become a basic eating habit - which is obviously different from the Dai food culture of eating soft rice and liking sour and spicy.
Due to the cold temperature, building houses and building houses to keep warm has become the primary functional demand for living in the northwest Yunnan Plateau, thus forming the architectural culture of the Diqing Tibetans with wooden frame structures and rammed earth walls as the main features. The local people also organically combine labor and entertainment, resulting in a unique architectural song - "Scared Ga", which integrates the sound of rammed earth with a strong sense of musical rhythm with the sound of song and dance, so that the original hard work becomes a pleasant artistic experience.
Alpine valleys, cold climate, thin air... In the face of the harsh natural environment, the Tibetan people living in the snowy plateau are not afraid of hardships, optimistic life, and create a unique and charming Tibetan culture on the snowy plateau. Snowy mountains, meadows, blue skies, blue lakes, goshawks... These natural elements are integrated, a cycle of cause and effect, and also integrated into people's beliefs.
From the production and spiritual pursuit of the above two ethnic groups located in different natural environments, geographical spaces and biological communities, we clearly feel a colorful Yunnan. Biodiversity and cultural diversity are interdependent: with diverse organisms, there is multiculturalism;
Over the years, under the care of the party and the government, the people of all ethnic groups in Yunnan have firmly grasped the basic characteristics of biodiversity and cultural diversity in Yunnan in the construction of ecological civilization, adhered to the coordinated development of ecological environment, national culture and economy and society, and carried out a lot of explorations in scientific development, green development and sustainable development, which has important enlightenment and reference for the protection of world biodiversity and the coexistence of human culture pluralism. Today, the people of all ethnic groups in Yunnan continue to aim at the strategic positioning of "the vanguard of ecological civilization" and strive to build Yunnan into a green development pilot zone of world significance.
Yunnan's biodiversity and cultural diversity are treasures in the construction of world ecological civilization, and are eternal topics worthy of attention and continuation.
Guangming Daily ( 09/09/2021)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily