Jiang Rong's Wolf Totem: Toward a Narrative Ecology of the Grassland of Contemporary Inner Mongolia

Varsava, Jerry A.

doi:10.1093/isle/isr037

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The importance of the wolf for Mongolian herder identity and culture as well as grassland ecology becomes clear in the semiautobiographical novel Wolf Totem written by political scientist and former activist Lu Jiamin, under the pseudonym Jiang Rong (2009). Although Wolf Totem is an autobiographical novel, it is of academic value, as illustrated by Varsava (2011), Meng and Omar (2011), and Huang (2016). The novel combines biological, anthropological, and political perspectives on the ecological state and past situation of the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and Mongolia.…”

Section: Power Relations and Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amongst others, the wolf population is destroyed, causing an increase in grass-eating marmots, gazelle, and mice. The disregard of nomadic Mongolian pastoralism and rangeland stewardship ultimately leads to degradation of the grasslands and the associated cultural patterns (Varsava 2011). In contrast to the Han Chinese ideas of agricultural "development," Rong (2009) describes the traditional Mongolian pastoralist view of ecology and the symbiotic relationship of wolves and herders:…”

Section: Power Relations and Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wolves maintain both the ecological balance (by controlling gazelle and livestock numbers) and a cultural-spiritual balance as the Mongolian primary totem (Varsava 2011). Wolf populations, in turn, are controlled by the herders and therefore, both Mongolian herders and wolves can be seen as stewards of the grassland.…”

Section: Power Relations and Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biocultural diversity: a Mongolian case study

Seele¹,

Esler²,

Cunningham³

2019

E&S

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Although conceptual frameworks describing biodiversity and cultural keystone species have been widely accepted over the past 15 years, there remains a need for an overarching framework that covers the various components of biocultural diversity. We present a conceptual framework to enable the better understanding, monitoring, and maintenance of biocultural diversity across a range of spatial scales, from the landscape and ecosystem level to the species and gene/meme level. This is done by combining the concepts of biological diversity and cultural diversity, including cultural values and symbols, ethnoscientific approaches, as well as power relations and institutions, to form a biocultural diversity framework. To illustrate the framework, we use a systems diagram and practical examples from a case study on the ethnoveterinary knowledge and practices of Mongolian pastoralists. Ethnoveterinary knowledge is an example of traditional ecological knowledge and therefore offers valuable insight into biocultural diversity. Using the conceptual framework as a tool, our investigation of biocultural diversity in the Mongolian pastoralist context strongly suggests that an understanding of the historical, political, and cultural contexts, as well as the interrelatedness of cultural processes and ecological systems, is essential for maintaining biocultural diversity. More specifically, our results indicate that retaining a mobile herding way of life as well as the associated balance and communication with nature, is vital for both the continued transmission of ethnoveterinary knowledge and the sustainable use of ecological resources that Mongolian pastoralists rely on. There is a need for national policies that acknowledge, support, and maintain the important and complex processes underlying the Mongolian landscape and the associated worldviews, knowledge, and practices. The development of a coherent framework for biocultural diversity therefore allows for a clearer understanding of the various components and the selection of appropriate indicators for monitoring biocultural diversity.

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Section: Power Relations and Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Power Relations and Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Biocultural diversity: a Mongolian case study

Seele¹,

Esler²,

Cunningham³

2019

E&S

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“…These articles discuss the Wolf Totem and ecocritics, the translation of the Wolf Totem, the acceptance of the Wolf Totem outside of China, culture and other themes. As for journals outside China, there are three crucial articles published in the Harvard journal written by Meng (2011) entitled "Grassland Ecology: An Analysis of Wolf Totem from an Ecological Perspective," Varsava (2011) "Jiang Rong's Wolf Totem: Toward a Narrative Ecology of the Grassland of Contemporary Inner Mongolia "and He (2014)" The Wolf Myth and Chinese Environmental Sentimentalism in 'Wolf Totem.' " Damage to nature, what happened in China and all over the world is a form of human selfishness that considers humans to be the center of the universe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstruction of China’s Anthropocentric Views in Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem Novel

Januarti

2020

Lit

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The Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century had transformed the relationship between man and nature into one that was confused: man and nature were either balanced or mutually antagonistic. In China itself, since the “Great Leap Forward Movement,” “Cultural Revolution,” “Deng Xiaoping’s Open Politics” to date, has caused severe damage to nature. These have caused various kinds of public reactions, both from the public, academia, society, and writers. Deconstruction Wolf Totem anthropocentric view from an ecological perspective can show China’s culture, environmental conditions, government policies, the relation of human and natural, ecofeminism, eco-spiritualism, and anti-ecological thought. The method used in this study is descriptive interpretive in ecocritical studies. Ecocritical perspective on literary works is essential means to speaking out against anthropocentric domination and environmental damage. The analysis results show that the ecological damage narrative in Wolf Totem is used as a reinforcing motive to deconstruct the anthropocentric view of the people of China and Chinese government policy. Through the deconstruction of an anthropocentric perspective, efforts to repair environmental damage carried out. By changing the anthropocentric culture to become ecocentric, will achieve a green China, especially in the Xi Jinping era whose policies oriented towards Ecological Civilization (生态文明). Keywords: ecocritic, Chinese ecological literature, ecofeminism, eco-spiritualism, anti-ecology DEKONSTRUKSI PANDANGAN ANTROPOSENTERIK CHINA DALAM NOVEL WOLF TOTEM KARYA JIANG RONGSAbstrakRevolusi Industri pada pertengahan abad sembilanbelas telah merubah hubungan manusia dengan alam menjadi sebuah hubungan yang membingungkan: manusia dan alam menjadi baik dan seimbang atau saling bermusuhan. Di Tiongkok sendiri, sejak “Gerakan Lompatan Jauh ke Depan", “Revolusi Kebudayaan", “Politik Terbuka Deng Xiaoping" hingga saat ini, telah menyebabkan kerusakan alam yang parah. Hal ini menimbulkan berbagai macam reaksi publik, baik dari kalangan masyarakat, akademisi, hingga sastrawan. Mendekonstruksi pandangan entroposentris novel Wolf Totem dari perspektif ekologi dapat memperlihatkan budaya masyarakat, keadaan lingkungan, kebijakan pemerintah, hubungan manusia dan alam, serta pandangan ekofeminisme, ekospiritualisme dan pemikiran anti-ekologi di Tiongkok. Metode yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah deskriptif interpretatif dalam perspektif studi ekokritik. Berdasarkan perspektif ekokritik, karya sastra menjadi sarana penting untuk bersuara terhadap dominasi entroposentris dan kerusakan lingkungan. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa narasi kerusakaan lingkungan dalam Wolf Totem digunakan sebagai motif penegas untuk mendekonstruksi kembali pandangan antroposentris budaya masyarakat Tiongkok dan kebijakan pemerintah Tiongkok. Melalui dekonstruksi pandangan antroposentris, upaya perbaikan kerusakan lingkungan dilakukan. Dengan merubah budaya antroposentris menjadi ekosentris, maka akan tercapai Tiongkok yang hijau apalagi di era Xi Jinping yang kebijakannya berorientasi pada Peradaban Ekologi (生态文明). Kata Kunci: ekokritik, sastra ekologi China, ekofeminsisme, eko-spiritualisme, anti-ekologi

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From Jiang Rong to Jean-Jacques Annaud: An Ecological Rewrite of Wolf Totem

Zhai

2019

Chinese Literature and Culture in the World

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Jiang Rong's Wolf Totem: Toward a Narrative Ecology of the Grassland of Contemporary Inner Mongolia

Cited by 8 publications

References 1 publication

Biocultural diversity: a Mongolian case study

Biocultural diversity: a Mongolian case study

Deconstruction of China’s Anthropocentric Views in Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem Novel

From Jiang Rong to Jean-Jacques Annaud: An Ecological Rewrite of Wolf Totem

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