Abstract: In the biological evolution on Earth, ecology, biology, and life, with the food chain, form a mutually reinforcing relational system. The biological evolution of species—particularly animals—has invariably revolved around this relational system of the food chain, exhibiting both marked attribute commonalities and characteristic distinctions. Biological evolution is not a unilinear process of “progress”, but a dialectical course in which evolution and degeneration coexist. Changes in the food chain constitute both the material carrier and the core driving force of this course. The Agricultural Revolution, epitomized by domestication and cultivation, not only reshaped humanity’s food chain and biological nature but also gave rise to the agrarian characteristics of Chinese civilization, such as the unity of heaven and man and adaptation to local conditions. By reviewing prehistoric practices of animal and plant domestication in China and analyzing the mutual constitution between food and civilization, as well as between biological nature and cultural traits, this study elucidates the anthropological principles underlying food chain evolution, offering historically grounded reflections on contemporary ecological crises.

Key words: evolution-degeneration-domestication, biological nature, food chain, the Agricultural Revolution, Chinese civilization