Director of Institute of World Economics and Politics of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Zhang Yuyan

Four or five years ago I have read Zweig’s “The Story of Magellan”. At that time there is something difficult for me to understand. Today when I sailed across the Drake Passage by vessel, they became easy to understand. The severe jolt of the ship caused by wind and waves and the dull life made Zweig who was going to cross over the Atlantic become bad-tempered and hate sailing. When Magellan, who leaded a team to have the first global expedition 350 years ago, crossed Zweig’s mind, he gradually calmed down and felt guilty for his behavior and attitude. The material conditions in two voyages had a lot of differences. The uncertainties were completely different as well as the ambition and perseverance of passengers. In order to repent, Zweig who was sensitive, introspective, responsible and talented decided to write a biography for Magellan. An ordinary voyage gave birth to an unusual works, that’s because there’s a passenger named Zweig. Hope that an unusual travel in Antarctica won’t only leave ordinary memory.

When I was a child, I have seen penguins in the zoo. A month ago I visited South Africa, I also saw penguins in a place like zoo near the seaside. But when I first landed on the island I was still shocked by seeing thousands of penguins walking towards me. They aren’t afraid of people. But who knows whether it’s because ignorance or trust or kindness? And in penguin’s eyes whether we are intruders or just curious passer-by? In the past, people hunted penguins in a large scale just for getting grease. If penguins’ memories were quite good and could be passed on from generation to generation, I’m afraid that the formation of penguins in front of human could be interpreted as their protest and complaint to mankind. A scene which let me concerned about is that a baby penguin stood on the rock near the shore side and was waiting for its parents who were looking for food under the sea back home. Parents can recognize their children instantly among thousands of penguins. They opened mouths and fed krill stored in abdomen to their children. If the adult penguins were eaten by seals while preying, the baby penguins had to wait for death. Normally, about half of the thousands of baby penguins on the island cannot survive in the coming cold winter. Except for starvation, they might also be caught by other birds because of running out of energy. If birds and seals don’t hurry up to store enough energy, they will also wait for death. Survive is premised on death, that’s the law of nature.

It might be lucky for human beings to reach the top of the earth biologic chain. If we want, we can regard any other creatures as part of our food chain. But it also means a great responsibility. The real problem is that the ultimate result of breaking biologic chain is difficult to judge in the moral and overall sense. Hunting penguins will directly damage the welfare of penguins themselves and their children. But the influence on the welfare of the penguin group will be complex. Obviously for krill it’s an improvement. Even more bewildering, shouldering the responsibility needs to be guided under a principle. Despite heavy damage and widespread contradiction, several behavior principles have been set up among human beings. What basic principles should be followed on the relationship between human and other species? What conditions need to be met to sacrifice part of mankind’s interests to protect the welfare of other species? Antarctica was once dyed red with blood of penguins, seals and whales and now it prohibits any economic development. It is the most suitable place to think about animal’s welfare, which has become a heated topic in international politics and economy.