Advantages and disadvantages of China's three major aesthetic thoughts in ancient times

The three major aesthetic thoughts in ancient China are Confucian aesthetics, Taoist aesthetics and Mohist aesthetics. Their advantages and disadvantages are as follows:

1, Confucian aesthetics, advantages: paying attention to self-reflection. Confucianism puts forward the concept of "reflexivity, self-cultivation and integrity", that is, one should constantly reflect on one's behavior and maintain true honesty and justice. Disadvantages: pursuing absolute perfect moralism, dreaming of shaping moral perfection. Confucianism advocates the pursuit of an absolutely perfect moral standard, which is difficult to achieve, because people always have defects and mistakes. This kind of thinking may lead people to pursue standards that lack practical feasibility, resulting in frustration and disappointment.

Advantages of Taoist aesthetics: paying attention to natural harmony and pursuing natural inaction. It emphasizes the harmony and balance between man and nature, and pursues inner peace and freedom. Encouraging people to let go of utilitarian hearts and desires and pursue inner peace and freedom has a positive impact on personal spiritual cultivation and inner harmony. Disadvantages: Taoist aesthetics emphasizes inaction too much, which may lead to personal neglect of social responsibility;

3. Mohist aesthetics. Advantages: advocating love, peace, fairness and utility, paying attention to social benefits and practical application, and having deep thinking on the relationship between individuals and society. Disadvantages: lack of depth and breadth in aesthetics. Too utilitarian, ignoring the inherent value and charm of art, generally speaking, the three aesthetic ideas have their own strengths, so we should choose the appropriate aesthetic ideas to use in specific situations, and foster strengths and avoid weaknesses.