Nature has been inextricably connected with human life. There is nature's necessity, such as the cosmic order or bodily functions that men cannot change and have to comply with. There is nature's authority. People use nature to build up social norms and to justify social and political actions. There are also nature's ambiguities. There are no unchanging “essential” characteristics of nature and no fixed boundaries separating man and nature.① Our concepts about nature and our relationships to it draw very much on the ideas and norms of society in which we are born, socialized, and educated. And the other way round. Nature may be described and understood in very different ways so that it may serve as justification for very different and sometimes even opposite social and political actions. Nature's moral and political significances can be seen in all cultures and in all times in human history. My topic is about how about how ancient Chinese conceptualized nature and how they used their conceptions and understandings of nature to think about ethics, government, and politics. I will also discuss how the Chinese emphasis on such moral and political meanings affected the style of the inquiry about nature.
