Nowadays, environmental problems fundamentally threaten our lives. The study of ecology must attempt to have a deep dialogue with the thoughts of other traditional cultures in order to be practical and comprehensive. The aim of this paper is to explore some of ways the teachings of the early Confucian thinker Xunxi can serve as a counterpart of dialogue with contemporary ecology. This paper tries to locate possibilities at the intersection of Confucian thought and contemporary ecology, social ecology and deep ecology. Additionally, the paper examines how these areas of study dialogue with each other through a comparative perspective. Xunxi was a Confucian thinker who developed a type of ecology that could be called political ecology; therefore, his thoughts hold significant implications for institutional policies and can be compared with social ecology in this aspect. Also, Xunxi and social ecology emphasize humanity’s moral obligations to the environment.