Animals, Ledgers of Merit and Demerit, and Karma: Religious Ecological Mechanisms in Chinese Morality Books of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Religions February 24, 2026 Junhui Chen, Xinfeng Kong
Ming–Qing morality books integrated animals, ledgers of merit, and karmic causality into a system where killing or saving animals directly caused karmic reward or punishment. This dual mechanism combined moral technology with a logic of justice to cultivate ecological consciousness and enforce social discipline. The study articulates a triadic analytical framework—merit–demerit ledgers, karmic narrative, and animal ethics—showing how these formed a coherent system of measurable ethical practice. This framework challenges human-centered worldviews by foregrounding an interconnected ecological order with shared moral obligations. Comparing it to modern approaches like anti-speciesism and animal rights discourse reveals points of convergence and structural divergence. The article proposes a revised morality book framework for present-day conditions.