What is an important feature of China's classical aesthetics?

We can see an important feature of China's classical aesthetics category: China's classical aesthetics category is often not limited to generalizing certain characteristics of specific aesthetic objects or aesthetic processes, but closely related to ancient thinkers' views on the whole universe, because it often contains metaphysical meanings. If divorced from the cosmology of ancient thinkers, these aesthetic categories will lose their profound and rich connotations and become an empty shell.

China's traditional aesthetic concept sprouted in the pre-Qin period, developed rapidly from Wei-Jin to Ming Dynasty, and concluded in Qing Dynasty. Among them, China people's traditional aesthetic audience, aesthetic object and aesthetic concern must embody the noumenon of the universe-"Tao" and the noumenon of life-"Qi", and only in this way can they be regarded as having vitality.

Since Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, China's classical aesthetics has put forward a series of special views on aesthetic objects, aesthetic photos and their artistic life course. Aestheticists believe that the aesthetic object is not an isolated and limited "image"-image, but "image" must embody "Tao" and "Qi" in order to become an aesthetic object.

Aesthetic photography is not a limited and isolated "image" vision, but needs to enter the "Tao" vision. This is what Laozi called "removing metaphysics"-the highest purpose of understanding is to observe "Tao"; People are required to get rid of subjective prejudice and keep silent-only by keeping silent can people observe the changes and origins of everything in the universe.

It can be seen that the essence of aesthetics is not to grasp the formal beauty of objects, but to grasp the noumenon and life of things. Elephants are invisible; Take it out of the image; Context comes from outside the image ... all these express the meaning of this breakthrough "image" (figuration, image). Based on this, we can see that China's classical aesthetics holds that artists must express the ontology and life of the universe ("Tao" and "Qi") in their works, and only in this way can artistic works have vitality. The proposition of "vivid charm" put forward by aestheticians in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is a summary of this idea. "Vivid charm" has also become the highest aesthetic principle of China's paintings and sculptures for thousands of years.

Some people study the history of aesthetics and look for the word "beauty" in ancient books. In fact, in China's classical aesthetic system, the word "Miao" is also a very important aesthetic category, even more important than "beauty" in a sense. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, people often used the word "Miao" or its derived concepts such as "Miao" and "Qi" to evaluate works. There are three kinds of calligraphy and painting, namely "spirit", "subtlety" and "energy", plus "yi", but there is no such thing as "beauty".