Environmental Equity in China and Beyond
Past, Present, and Future
Will be published approx. on 19. February 2026
Book
Hardback
232 pages
978-1-350-52753-9 (ISBN)
Description
Michael Nylan and Thomas Hahn open up new vistas for thinking ecologically in this introduction to ancient and modern thought in China.
Together they explore the environment in the Chinese philosophical tradition and contemporary China through the lens of intergenerational justice. Nylan's analysis of lesser known texts from ancient China changes our thinking of Chinese political philosophy and legal antiquity codes. Hahn's comprehensive overview of recent data from China offers a response to the present crisis. Their original approach underscores why environmentalism is always more than a Western issue.
By applying ancient ideas to an urgent topic with a unique emphasis on East Asia, this one-of-a-kind guide to environmental thought challenges standard narratives. It is essential reading for anyone looking to understand how classical Chinese concepts can provide the necessary tools to improve how we think about the world we live in.
Together they explore the environment in the Chinese philosophical tradition and contemporary China through the lens of intergenerational justice. Nylan's analysis of lesser known texts from ancient China changes our thinking of Chinese political philosophy and legal antiquity codes. Hahn's comprehensive overview of recent data from China offers a response to the present crisis. Their original approach underscores why environmentalism is always more than a Western issue.
By applying ancient ideas to an urgent topic with a unique emphasis on East Asia, this one-of-a-kind guide to environmental thought challenges standard narratives. It is essential reading for anyone looking to understand how classical Chinese concepts can provide the necessary tools to improve how we think about the world we live in.
Reviews / Votes
'Environmental Equity in China and Beyond is a compelling work on planetary care. Through a deft interweaving of philosophical critique and legal insight, Nylan and Hahn reveal the limits of legal architectures rooted in short-sighted possessive individualism-frameworks that have long shaped our relationship to the earth. In their place, they evoke traditions-especially Chinese cosmologies and Confucian ethics-that embrace continuity, interdependence, and cultivation across generations. This book is a call for systemic change, an invitation to reimagine governance as a practice of collective stewardship, where autonomy is tempered by responsibility and the future is held with reverence. It is a work of urgent wisdom for an age of ecological peril-demanding human maturity and offering essential insight for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers committed to forging a livable future.' -- Professor Peimin Ni * Professor of Philosophy, Grand Valley State University, USA *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
426 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-52753-9 (9781350527539)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Michael Nylan is Professor of the Early History of China at the University of California in Berkeley, USA. She is one of the world's most prolific specialists of research into the early Chinese dynasties. Her books include the classic The Five 'Confucian' Classics (2001), China's Early Empires (2010 with Michael Loewe) and more recently The Chinese Pleasure Book (2018) as well as the translation of Sunzi's The Art of War (2022). Nylan edits the ongoing series Classics of Chinese Thought.
Thomas Hahn is a sinologist and cultural geographer, based in the US. Retired from Cornell and from occasional teaching at the University of California in Berkeley, he has over 40 years of fieldwork experience in China. His publications reflect research on Chinese gazetteers, the Grand Canal as a UNESCO World heritage Site; and religious communities, especially those based in China's rural and mountainous areas.
Thomas Hahn is a sinologist and cultural geographer, based in the US. Retired from Cornell and from occasional teaching at the University of California in Berkeley, he has over 40 years of fieldwork experience in China. His publications reflect research on Chinese gazetteers, the Grand Canal as a UNESCO World heritage Site; and religious communities, especially those based in China's rural and mountainous areas.
Content
Chronology
Foreword
1. Anglo-American Law
2. Early Empires in China
3. Intergenerational Equity
4. Seasonality and Health for the Body Politic
5. Outlines Policymaking in the PRC
Conclusion
Bibliography
Primary Sources in Classical Chinese
Modern Secondary Sources
Index
Foreword
1. Anglo-American Law
2. Early Empires in China
3. Intergenerational Equity
4. Seasonality and Health for the Body Politic
5. Outlines Policymaking in the PRC
Conclusion
Bibliography
Primary Sources in Classical Chinese
Modern Secondary Sources
Index