Abstract:
Owing to the popularity of ecotourism in US, it is necessary to delve in some masterminds of
wilderness in ecoliterature from the perspective of ecological aesthetics so as to get a clear picture of how
the American mindset on wilderness has come into being and how ecological aesthetic in US ecoliterature
has exerted profound impact and shaped US ecotourism in turn. This paper first compares the two
aesthetics, scenic and ecological aesthetic, and traces the burgeoning of ecological aesthetic in US, the
sublime in particular, to its frontier hypothesis. Then it probes the deepening of ecological aesthetic in US
with the case study of several influential eco-writers on wilderness, among which are Henry Thoreau爷s
making wilderness home, John Muir's founding of national parks, Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic, Edward
Abbey's spatial beauty, and wilderness in a broader sense from other US eco-writers. Finally with regard
to problems arising from Chinese ecotourism, the enlightenments of US ecoliterature on Chinese
ecotourism is suggested.