Lines of Fate: Fengshui Forests and the Moral Ecology of Resilience in Subtropical Southern China.

This article examines the role of fengshui forests—small patches of old-growth or secondary-growth forests linked to graves, temples, and village landscapes—in fostering community resilience and sustainability in subtropical southern China over the last millennium. Fengshui, a vitalist system centered on the flow of qi (energy or force) through the landscape, integrates Indigenous and imperial moral ecologies by connecting living people, ancestors, land, and trees, thereby shaping social-ecological systems that enhance biodiversity, microclimate regulation, and water conservation. The article traces the historical development of fengshui forests through textual, ethnographic, and legal evidence, highlighting their significance as sacred commons managed by patrilineal kin groups and their evolving status amid political, ecological, and social changes. Despite challenges in the modern era, fengshui forests remain important reservoirs of ecological and cultural resilience, suggesting potential for inclusive local participation in contemporary ecosystem management within China’s subtropical broadleaf forest biome.