The Western culture embraces the concept of Man's "natural rights," a concept that has been taken as the theoretical basis for studies of human rights in the West. This concept of "natural rights" is closely associated with a philosophical proposition that features centralism of the human race. Why do we say so? Because the assumption that Man has an absolute, unquestionable right over nature constitutes an important part of the Western human rights concept. According to this assumption, Man is by birth the most superior in the natural world, with the right to run supreme over the natural world, while the natural world is to be utilized, controlled, enslaved and plundered. The same assumption logically means that all living things other than Man, including animals and plants, have no right to enjoy. In the contemporary era, i.e., the era of industrialization, this assumption or value that stresses Man's supremacy led to a wanton plunder of nature. That, in turn, has caused grave consequences which, as everybody knows, are posing an unprecedented threat to the survival of the human race.

The Chinese culture, however, refuses to take the human race as the center of the natural world. Profound in connotation, it may well be called an ecology-oriented culture. Confucianism, the core of the traditional Chinese culture, does attach great importance to the position of people in the natural world and the role they play. In a certain sense, the formulation "people," or "humanity," is the core of Confucianism. Nevertheless, taking people as the center does not necessarily mean taking the human race as the center. Study of the relations between people and nature is the central theme of the Chinese culture, and harmony between people and nature is the basic concept it embraces. It is through efforts to achieve this harmony between Man and nature and between different people that the existence of the human race becomes justified. Taoism calls for "return to nature," and describes Man as an "integral part of Heaven." Confucianism, on its part, insists that "Heaven gives birth to all living things," and it calls for "benevolence to people and love of all living things." In fact these and all other major schools of thought in the Chinese culture call for harmony between different people and harmony between Man and nature.

If it is true that the Western culture has mothered the concept of Man being born with natural rights, then we can safely say that the Chinese culture represented by Confucianism gives rise to the assumption that "Man is born with virtue." Benevolence is the core of Confucianism. Confucianism regards benevolence as Man's innate virtue, as the fundamental principle guiding relations between different people and between Man and nature. As a virtue, it obliges one to respect not only fellow members of the human race but also all other living things in the natural world and even abiological existence in all forms. In other words, one must respect the right to subsistence not only of other humans but also of all living things in the natural world. Rights and obligations, as unity of the opposites, are reciprocally preconditioned. Rights embraced by the Confucian culture are in the form of obligations.

What is even more important is that benevolence, as a virtue advocated by Confucianism, does not have its application limited to the practical world. Instead, it has been extended and expanded in such a way as to become the principle guiding relationship between Man and nature, and that is why we call it an ecology-oriented philosophy profound in connotation. What is the essence of "benevolence" as advocated by Confucianism? Scholars, especially those devoted to study of global ethics, find a golden rule in this statement of Confucius: "Do not do to others things you do not like to be done to yourself." It is true that the Confucian maxim is an important part of "benevolence" as a virtue, but it is just a "method to practice benevolence" as exponents of Confucianism put it and, moreover, it applies only to relationship between different people. In a broader sense, the concept of "life" should be taken as the essence of "benevolence."

"Life," as a philosophical formulation, embodies the fundamental feature of China's philosophical system. As a philosophical approach it has two connotations. The first denotes lives and creation of lives, and the second, one ecosystem in relation to another, both connotations strongly suggesting a meaning of value. Taking "life" as the essence of "benevolence" enlivens not only the human consciousness of life but also an ecology-oriented consciousness that are inherent in the Chinese culture.

Confucius and all ancient Chinese philosophers after him stood for the assumption that "life" originates from Heaven. Basing itself on that assumption, the Book of Changes says that the "immensely great Heaven and Earth are inherent with virtues." The Doctrine of the Mean, on its part, insists that "benevolence prevails in the way of Heaven." Scholars of Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties regarded Heaven and Earth as "mother of the laws governing development of the natural world," insisting that "benevolence" or morality is "inherent in those laws governing the birth of lives." As it kept expanding in application and deepening in connotation, "benevolence" as a virtue eventually developed into a great philosophy demanding that the "benevolent regard everything under Heaven and on Earth as an integral unity." This was, in fact, the basic principle advanced by ancient Chinese or their aspiration for an overall harmony between different people, between people and society and between Man and nature. Countless natural disasters hit ancient China. Despite that, ancient Chinese were generally in harmony with nature because of their beliefs such as the need to "awe the mandate of Heaven" and the "benevolent regarding everything under Heaven and on Earth as an integral unity." Testifying to this is the fact that no serious damage was done to the country's ecological environment and natural resources in ancient times, and that was a most important factor that made it possible for the Chinese nation to survive and develop. Few countries are in a position to boast an ancient civilization. China is one with that global fame, which is inseparable from its cultural tradition that regards Man as an integral part of nature.

The exposition of "benevolence to people and love of all living things" is of an eternal value, in that it calls for respect not only for Man's value and dignity but also for the "inherent value" of the natural world, i.e., for the "laws governing the giving of births." The natural world is seen as an integral unity of life and vitality, and Man is just a part of it, just "one of the countless living things" existent in the natural world. Only by recognizing the apriority and originality of nature will it be possible for us to explain the origin of the human life and its value and why human "creations" are always preconditioned. For this reason, both Confucianism and Taoism regard the natural world as the origin of the human life. The Chinese culture stands for the theory of "Man's natural virtue," which regards the "mandate of Heaven as virtue" and "living things as the center of the natural world and the heart of the living as the heart of Man." This theory and the Western theory of Man's natural rights have each played a role in human history while complementing each other.

Sympathy is a great human feeling, and the Chinese culture has contributed to human development by calling for giving such a feeling to the natural world as a way to materialize the virtue of benevolence. To put it another way, animals and plants in the natural world have an inherent value and should enjoy the right to survival. Animal and plant lives interact with human lives and, in view of this, Man should place them on an equal footing with his own and should respect lives existent in the natural world. This understanding is not only manifested in legal provisions (ancient China had detailed legal rules to this effect), but also highlights a moral obligation, an obligation that stems from Man's need to materialize the virtue inherent in him, i.e., the respect for life and for creation of lives. As a thinker, Mencius, the most important exponent of Confucianism after Confucius^was full of sympathy towards animal and plant lives. He was sympathetic, in particular, towards animal lives, "unable to see an animal being slaughtered and reluctant to eat the meat of an animal to be slaughtered when hearing its whining." Mencius spoke highly of this feeling of benevolence and sympathy, describing it as a vital part of the noble quality that characterized the "man of virtue." The theory advanced by Mencius that calls for "benevolence for people and love for all living things" was to develop into a most important part of Confucianism, which was inherited and carried forward by exponents of Confucianism of all the later generations. Mencius' call for respect for and sympathy towards animals is in fact an important factor that makes it possible for Man to possess a moral dignity. Zhang Zai, a Confucian scholar of the Song Dynasty, advanced a theory that calls for "sharing human fraternity with living things (in the natural world)." He was actually demanding that one regard fellow members of the human race as one's brothers and living things in the natural world (animals and plants in particular) as one's friends and companions. The theory narrowed the gap in terms of value between Man on the one hand and animals and plants on the other. Cheng Jing, another Confucian scholar of the Song Dynasty, went even further by advocating equality between Man and the living things in the natural world, conceding that like the human life, animal lives are of a value and, therefore, deserve Man's respect. Cheng insisted that on no account must Man become "apathetic and merciless" and take pleasure in slaughtering animals for regarding himself as superior to animals and, proceeding from that selfconceit, as bom with the right to overwhelm over them. Instead, he said, Man must "regard himself as one of the living things in order to gain an utter happiness." By this, he meant to say that a person should regard animals as his or her equals. Equality between Man and the animal world, according to Cheng and other Confucian scholars, stems from "benevolence as manifested in the right attitude towards giving of births." Benevolence, as these scholars saw it, represents the value of human life in its highest form, and highlights a universal concern with lives. Exactly for this concern, they argued, Man is worthy of being valued.

Whether or not Man can be virtuous enough to treat lives (animal and plant lives) in the natural world as equals and thus respect their right to survival constitutes a problem in human life that cries for solution. This problem gives rise to major issues including what is the right position Man should occupy in the natural world, what are, after all, the rights and obligations of Man, and whether it is justified for Man to enjoy his right with not regard to his obligations. It will be good if dialogue is conducted between the Oriental and Western cultures on these issues. Many Western countries have promulgated laws protecting animal rights, which is certainly a happy tiding. Nevertheless, that is not enough. While enforcing such legislation, the West needs to promote a morality in favor of animal right protection.

The Chinese culture embraces the subject concept of "unwritten rules concerning Heaven and Earth." "Unwritten rules" do not necessarily mean the kind of legislation formulated by Man that nature is obliged to follow. It means, instead, that "Man's interests should fall in line with the interests of all things under Heaven and on Earth," and that Man should work in such a way as to truly put into practice the "laws governing lives in nature." Man and nature are locked up by an inner relationship that stems from the very existence of their lives, a relationship that is purposive in character. If nature is viewed as something mechanical, reductive or casual, as something lifeless or dead, Man would pick himself up against nature. As Man is seen as bom with the right to manipulate and control nature, nature would be deprived of its value and come to be subject to control and plunder by Man. If that happens, the nature world, which is Man's home, will collapse and Man will definitely become homeless. Instances of ecological deterioration and worsening quality of human life are already testifying to this deplorable state of affairs.

China now has a dual task to fulfill. On the one hand, the country needs to develop a legal framework to govern its social and political life. In my understanding, this is meant to protect the rights of the Chinese people. On the other, it needs to rethink and re-interpret its traditional culture in the current era of globalization. This is meant to carry forward those Chinese cultural virtues and reinstate the value that regards animals and plants as having the same right to survival as Man and calls on Man, with the virtue of "benevolence," to respect and care for all lives in the natural world. As regards those human rights views held in the West, isn't it wise for them to break the limitation of human centralism so that equality will be the approach towards lives existent in the natural world and the value of such lives will be respected? On no account must Man plunder and damage nature allegedly for exercising his right to nature. The Earth belongs to all members of the human race. She is "mother" of us all. Ancient Chinese philosophers invariably regarded Heaven as Man's father and Earth, as Man's mother, hence their awe of nature. While having a profound ecological significance, this approach of traditional Chinese philosophy provides an invaluable guidance to Man in his effort to seek the most proper way of survival, as it calls on Man to hold nature in awe and gratitude and never to plunder it.

As the process of economic globalization gathers momentum, dialogue between different cultures has become extremely important. There should be dialogue between the Chinese and Western cultures under the principle of equality and mutual respect and understanding to increase consensus for mutual development.