中国生物工程杂志

In recent years, the communication of genetically modified organism (GMO) has been impeded in China. While science community and government departments try to overcome the barrier by enhancing science popularization efforts, it cannot be neglected that behind the resistance to GMO, there are hidden cultural factors. It identifies three cultural factors that are involved: the holistic view of nature that pursues "harmony between man and nature", anti-intellectualism, and the psychology of the indulgence with traditional agriculture. All three factors are related to traditional Chinese thinking mode of intuitive extrapolation. After tracing historical concepts of heaven and man, it find that the communication of GMO faces the conflict between constructivism natural view and holistic natural view. In fact, the holistic view of nature has been misinterpreted amidst the pervading anti-intellectualism against high technologies to which GMO belongs. Because of the holistic view of nature and "anti-intellectualism", the indulgence with traditional agriculture is very popular in modern China. But it is completely impossible to back to traditional agriculture by questioning GM technologies. In the situation, if we want to overcome the barriers of GMO communication, we need to reconstruct a friendly intellectual environment. While we need to promote GMO by economic benefits, it is also necessary to integrate the technological development into the generally accepted view of nature.