西南边地生态环境变迁管窥:基于大象的视角

Ecological Environment Change in the Southwestern Border: Based on the Perspective of Elephants

大象属长鼻目,是陆栖哺乳类最大体型动物,对生存环境变迁较为敏感。远古时期曾广泛栖息于中国大江南北,现野生象群仅存于云南西南部一隅。象也与当地民族的社会文化生活勾连在一起,体现于日常生活与精神生活诸多方面以及与中原王朝的关系,映照着人类社会历史、文化与自然的互动关系。然而,自明清以来,随着中央王朝对西南边地的开发、大象作为战争工具的使用、外来人口的大量进入以及橡胶、甘蔗、茶等经济作物的种植,导致大象栖息地逐渐萎缩,加之偷猎以获取象牙等因,以至于晚清至民国后,大象在这一地区濒临绝迹,仅在西双版纳、南滚河一带偶见到,这种情况持续至今。以大象为视角,可以了解一定区域人文与自然环境的变迁,同时也反思人与自然如何共处相宜以及生物多样性与文化多样性之间的互构,这在倡导生态文明建设的今天尤显重要。

Elephants are the largest terrestrial mammals of proboscidea, and they are sensitive to changes of the living environment. In ancient times, elephants inhabited in most areas of China, but now the wild elephants only exist in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province. Elephants are also linked with the social and cultural life of the local ethnic groups, which is embodied in many aspects of daily life and spiritual life including the interactive relationship between natural world, cultures and human history, as well as the relationship with dynasties of the central areas. However, since the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the development of the southwestern border areas by dynasties of the central areas, the use of elephants as a tool of war, the massive influx of immigrants and the cultivation of economic crops such as rubber, sugarcane and tea, the habitats of elephants have gradually shrunk. Moreover, because of poaching to obtain high profits from the ivory, more and more elephants basically disappeared in this area during the period of the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. Therefore, they could be found only in the areas of Xishuangbanna and Nangun river till now. From the perspective of elephants, the changes of humanities and natural environment in a certain region could be investigated, which could provide the reflection on coexist between human and nature and the mutual structure between the biodiversity and cultural diversity. It could be particularly significant in advocating the construction of ecological civilization nowadays.