Chinese aesthetics (illustrated gift edition)

Author: Li Zehou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: Generally speaking, Chinese art differs from the classical Western works that meticulously simulate limited realistic scenes or stories, characterized by "representation." It also rarely features the "expressionist" works of Western modernism, which are marked by intense personal emotional expression. Compared to this, individual emotional expression in Chinese works is generally not prominent. Most are often described as "letting emotions arise from feelings but stopping within propriety and ethics." Its emotional expression contains relatively concrete and figurative natural and social representational content. Yet, this representation of specific reality does not detach from emotional expression, and these two aspects are often intertwined and merged into one. Therefore, Chinese literature, art, and aesthetics are neither "representation" nor "expression" but rather "cultivating temperament and refining character," which means shaping emotions. Its roots still lie in the ancient tradition that adheres to the principle of "harmony in joy."