How to view the spirit of traditional Chinese culture and art

The formation and development of Confucian aesthetics is influenced by Confucius' ideological system centered on the concept of "benevolence". Confucian aesthetics has strong political and ethical colors, emphasizes the unity of beauty and goodness, and has an obvious tendency towards utilitarianism. Confucianism advocates "entering the world", advocates "cultivating one's moral character, aligning one's family, ruling the country and leveling the world", worries about the country and people, corrects one's own self, advocates "worrying about the world before the world worries, and rejoicing after the world rejoices", and "when one is poor, one is good at one's own work". "To be poor is to do good to oneself, but to be rich is to help the whole world". Du Fu, a representative of Confucian aesthetics, never changed his original intention despite his difficult career path, unfulfilled political ambitions, the Anshi Rebellion, dislocation and hardship. Even in the extreme embarrassment of writing "Song of the Thatched Cottage Broken by the Autumn Wind", Du Fu's prayer was not for personal happiness, but for the warmth of the world's poor. Influenced by Confucian aesthetics, Du Fu's poems are very strict, paying attention to the contrast, neatness, and meter, such as his stanzas: "Two yellow orioles are singing in the green willow, and a line of white egrets is going up to the blue sky. The window contains a thousand snowy autumns in the West Ridge, and the door is moored to a ten-thousand-mile ship in the East Wu." The four lines of the poem, two by two, in a neat pair, one line, one scene, juxtaposed with each other.

The formation and development of Taoist aesthetics is influenced by the thought system of Lao Zhuang, which is centered on "Tao". Taoist aesthetics advocates the way of nature, the pursuit of absolute freedom of the individual spirit, with a clear tendency of ultra-utilitarianism. Taoism advocates "leaving the world". It is believed that the ideal personality that can truly observe heaven and earth and realize Taoism should be born with heaven and earth, be one with all things, flow with creation, shine with the sun and the moon, and swim beyond the four seas". Li Bai, a representative of Taoist aesthetics, had political aspirations and was honored by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty with the title of Hanlin, but he was not taken seriously politically and was ostracized by the rich and powerful, so he was "given gold and released" after only one year, and from then on he left Chang'an and traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers. Li Bai's poems are full of the meaning of Taoism, longing for the absolute freedom of the spirit, the immortal and the wine became the subject of Li Bai's frequent recitations. For example, "I am a man of madness, I laughed at Kong Qiu with a phoenix song, holding a green jade staff, and bidding farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower. I have been traveling to famous mountains all my life, and I am not afraid to go far in search of immortals. Li Bai's poetic style, unconventional and free, can be seen in Li Bai's Taoist ideology of floating side. Zen is the Chinese version of Buddhism. It advocates that "mind" is the origin of the world, believes that "all laws are born from the mind", exalts the status and role of "mind", and advocates "hiding from the world", i.e. avoiding the world. It advocates "hiding from the world", i.e., avoiding the world and not entering it. Zen believes that the law is born from the mind, the situation is created by the mind, and the mind is empty and silent, so the mind is the only one that can realize all the things in the world and all the things in the world. Therefore, all things and phenomena in the world that are manifested by the "mind" are illusory and unreal. Although Wang Wei, a representative of Zen aesthetics, was influenced by Confucianism and Taoism, he was more influenced by Buddhist Zen aesthetics. Wang Wei was a longtime official in Beijing, reaching the rank of Right Minister of the Imperial Household, but in his later years he devoted himself to Buddhism, and "after retiring from the court, he burned incense and sat alone, chanting in Zen". Wang Wei's poems are full of Zen. For example, "I don't see anyone in the empty mountains, but I hear their voices. The view returns to the deep forest and shines on the green moss." It is the constant collision and fusion of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, which influences and determines the continuous change and development of traditional Chinese artistic thought and aesthetic interest, forming the spirit of traditional Chinese art, specifically including the following six aspects.

Dao, the spirituality of traditional Chinese art. Tao, the highest category of ancient Chinese philosophy, Tao is divided into the Tao of Heaven and the Tao of Humanity. The Tao of Heaven is the doctrine of the fundamental problems of the universe, and the Tao of Humanity is the doctrine of the fundamental problems of life. Taoism focuses on the "Way of Heaven" or the "Way of Nature", Confucianism focuses on the "Way of Man" or the "Way of Reasoning", and Zen focuses on the "Way of the World" or the "Way of the World". Confucianism focuses on the "Way of Man" or the "Way of Reasoning", and Zen Buddhism's "Buddha-nature" (i.e., the mind is Buddha) is similar to the concept of the "Way". Heaven and man are united in the Tao, which is the way of "the unity of heaven and man". The "unity of man and heaven" determines the basic spirit of ancient Chinese philosophy is the pursuit of man and man, man and nature, harmony and unity. The idea of "unity of heaven and man" has had a great influence on traditional Chinese culture and traditional Chinese art. The "unity of heaven and man" is the core category of traditional Chinese culture, it is not only a doctrine of the relationship between man and nature, but also a doctrine on the ideal of life, the value of life. The idea of "unity of heaven and man" holds that human beings are part of nature, and nature has universal laws, which human beings should obey. In addition, "the unity of heaven and man" also emphasizes that human nature is the way of heaven, that moral principles and the laws of nature are the same, and that the highest ideal of life should be the harmony between heaven and man, including the oneness of man and all things, as well as the oneness of man and man. In a sense, one of the most fundamental differences between Chinese and Western cultures lies in the fact that the former emphasizes the "unity of heaven and man" while the latter stresses the "separation of subject and object". Qi, the vitality of traditional Chinese art. The material qi is spiritualized and vitalized, which can be said to be the essential feature of the Chinese "qi theory". Qi" occupies a very important position in Chinese traditional culture, not only does Chinese medicine talk about "qi", qigong talk about "qi", opera performances talk about "qi", painting and calligraphy talk about "qi" and "qi", but also Chinese traditional arts and crafts talk about "qi" and "qi". "The painting and calligraphy also need to be the first to transport the" gas ". Traditional Chinese aesthetics uses "qi" to illustrate the origin of beauty, and advocates the artistic depiction and expression of the rhythm and harmony of the unending flow of all things in the universe and the sky. On the one hand, Chinese aesthetics attaches great importance to the cultivation of qi, and advocates that artists should constantly improve their moral cultivation and knowledge, and that qi is a generalization of the artist's physiological and psychological factors as well as his or her creative ability. On the other hand, it is required to combine the artist's subjective "qi" with the objective universe's "qi", so that "qi" becomes the symbol of the inner spirit and artistic life of art works. Especially in Chinese traditional aesthetics, "qiryun", which is very rich in national characteristics, refers to the inner vitality of the aesthetic object manifested in the form of rhythmic beauty. The category of "qi yun" was conceived in the Han Dynasty when "qi" was emphasized in philosophy and "yun" was emphasized in music, and matured in the Wei, Jin and North and South Dynasties when all kinds of arts respected the vivid expression of qi yun of things. The "vividness of rhythm" has become the general principle of Chinese painting, reflecting the basic characteristics of classical Chinese aesthetics in a very profound way.

The aesthetic nature of traditional Chinese art. Chinese traditional aesthetics and Chinese traditional art, from the very beginning, attaches great importance to the subjectivity of human beings, believes that art is the table of the heart, the heart is the ruler of things, and advocates the unity of heart and music, the unity of heart and things. Therefore, Chinese classical aesthetics and traditional Chinese art, has always emphasized the aesthetic subject and object of the integration of one, and has always believed that the beauty of literature and art lies in the unity of feelings and scenery, the unity of the heart and the unity of things, and the unity of man and nature. Such as Li Bai's "a pot of wine among flowers, drinking alone without relatives. Raise a glass to invite the moon, the shadow into three people". At the same time, traditional Chinese art attaches great importance to the integration and unity of feelings and reasoning.

Dance, Chinese traditional art of music wisdom. Ancient China, the primitive totem songs and dances and fanatical witchcraft rituals once formed a spectacular scene of the dragon and phoenix dance. Therefore, in ancient Chinese art, poetry, music and dance were initially a trinity, only later did they gradually diverge and form different art categories with their own characteristics. However, the spirit of "music and dance" with strong vitality has not disappeared. On the contrary, this spirit of "music and dance" has gradually penetrated and fused into all kinds of Chinese arts, embodying the vivid forms and styles of flying and dancing. Dance is typical of all artistic realms. Chinese calligraphy and painting tend to fly and dance, and the solemn architecture also has flying eaves dance.

Wu, traditional Chinese art of intuitive thinking. The importance of intuition is one of the most important features of the traditional Chinese way of thinking. And this traditional way of thinking, the traditional Chinese art thinking and aesthetic thinking has also had a great impact, especially the formation of the "wu" as the core of the sensibility of the intuitive aesthetic way of thinking. "Enlightenment is the freest state of mental activity and a creative way of thinking that is based on experience. Although everyone can be enlightened, it is only through a wide range of knowledge and continuous efforts that one can reach the realm of enlightenment. As one of the important categories of Chinese aesthetics and art, "enlightenment" plays a very important role in traditional Chinese art creation and art appreciation, and has given rise to a series of related categories such as "epiphany", "wonderful enlightenment", and so on. It also gives rise to a series of related categories, such as "epiphany" and "wonderful enlightenment". In a sense, a true artist must have "enlightenment". The biggest difference between an artist and an artisan is that the former has the ability to master the art, while the latter has the ability to master the art but not the art.

And the dialectical thinking of traditional Chinese art. Chinese traditional aesthetics and traditional art advocate "harmony for beauty". The two concepts of "harmony" and "neutral" are closely related and distinct from each other. "He" refers to the unity of diversity or unity of opposites of things, is the realization of the unity of the conflicting parties; "in" refers to a correct principle and method of dealing with the contradictions of things, is to realize the unity of the ways and standards. "And" refers to the unity of diversity or unity of opposites, "and" and "the same" are two different concepts. The "same" is only the same kind of things, no difference in the combination together; and "and" is by the different, or even the opposite of the things united into a whole, that is, the pursuit of diverse unity. Therefore, to avoid repetition of similarities and seek differences and changes is not only not contradictory to the overall way of thinking of seeking harmony, but on the contrary, it is the embodiment of the artistic thinking of this "against the law, and not offend, and different" characteristics. While discovering the unity of diversity and seeking "harmony", ancient Chinese philosophers also discovered the unity of opposites and seeking "harmony". Compared with the unity of diversity, the unity of opposites is closer to the fundamental law of the development of things. The unification of opposites to explain "harmony" shows that the ancient Chinese had a deeper understanding of the nature of "harmony". The idea of unity of opposites has become the characteristic simple dialectical thinking of ancient Chinese philosophy, and has had a great influence on traditional Chinese aesthetics and art. Because of this, many categories of traditional Chinese aesthetics and art are in the form of unity of opposites, such as "rigidity and flexibility", "reality and emptiness", "movement and static", "form and spirit", "texture", "emotion and reason", "scene", "imagery", "image", "art", "art", "art", "art", "art", "art", "art", "art", "art", "art" and "art". Imagery", "mood" and so on, of which, the side favoring spirituality, more in the contradictory unity of the dominant position, such as "God" in the "Form and God ", "emotion" in "scene", "meaning" in "imagery" and so on. . It is this kind of dialectical thinking, sparkling with the light of rational wisdom of the Chinese nation, that has had a great influence on traditional Chinese art and aesthetic thought, and has formed a dialectical and harmonious view of traditional Chinese art and aesthetic thought with national characteristics - "and". This realm of "harmony", in Confucianism more emphasis on the harmony between man and society, advocating the unity of emotion and reason; in Taoism more emphasis on the harmony between man and nature, advocating the unity of mind and matter; in Zen more emphasis on the harmony between man and the human heart, the pursuit of spiritual purity, "that is, the mind is Buddha. ". Such "harmony" can be found in everything from the individual to the society, from humanities to art, and from heaven and earth to the whole universe. The harmonious beauty of "the unity of heaven and man" is obviously the highest pursuit of traditional Chinese art. Chinese aesthetics requires the unity of beauty and goodness, and the so-called goodness of the highest state, although the Confucian and Taoist schools have their own different sayings, but in the end, they are "the unity of heaven and man" as the highest state, and the so-called "unity of heaven and man" state, but also is a kind of aesthetic state, a kind of true goodness and beauty of the unity of the state, a kind of true goodness and beauty of the state, a kind of true goodness and beauty of the unity of the state. A realm of truth, goodness and beauty unity.