Psychological Impact of 3 Gorges Dam?

Question

Hi

What are some of the psychological impact of the 3 gorges dam?

Answer 1

Displacement of the thousands of families forced to relocate, not to mention change their livelihoods (some had ancestral farmlands)

Sense of loss over the destruction of irreplaceable cultural artifacts, sites even in some cases villages which centered around a spiritual or folk religious practice. Don't remember if the hanging coffins are affected by the 3 Gorges Dam, but I do know there are other archeologically unique and irreplaceable sites that are gone forever, and for a people and civilization so proud of its past that must be devastating.

The sense that nature is subsumed by forces of technology and economy. The ecological impact of the 3 gorges dam is terrifying, and has only begun to play out. Consider that much of Chinese spiritual, poetic and art history is rooted in the relationship and respect for nature....now contrast it to the feeling that autocrats/bureacrats can simply toss all that away.

The negative psychological impact is not just on the Chinese, it is on all of us who will never again experience the Yangtze as the traditional painters did...who watch as remnants of thousand year old family traditions which survived countless wars, famines and even the Cultural Revolution are once again jettisoned.

Answer 2

To begin with, you have to remember that in China, culture is everything. The people who have had centuries of their family live in the same village and homes lost by the river, they lost more than just a place to live but also part of their heritage. The Chinese celebrate the dead and honor them. Now that their ancestors are "under water", no matter how much national pride there is, they have still lost their past.

The psychological impact would be significant if all you were taught as a child was to honor your ancestors and take pride in your village. On the DOC channel, one women explained that her "Country" has brought her shame for her family because they can no longer honor their ancestors.

Excellent Question!!!