The Charm of Aesthetics: The Traditional Chinese Aesthetic Psychological Thought System and Its Modern Transformation

Author: Peng Yanqin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book is a study of the branch of psychology known as aesthetic psychology and is one of the key projects under the National Education Science "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan." It clarifies the ideological system of traditional Chinese aesthetic psychology, reveals its characteristic features, interprets its modern significance, and constructs an educational model for modern aesthetic psychological qualities. A questionnaire is appended at the end, demonstrating strong practicality. The book has the following features:
1. It constructs the ideological system of traditional Chinese aesthetic psychology based on the laws of aesthetic psychology. Following the laws of aesthetic psychological activity and incorporating the characteristics of traditional Chinese aesthetic psychological thought, the book focuses on analyzing several representative aesthetic categories such as yanzhi (expressing intentions), yuqin (following emotions), xujing (emptiness and tranquility), tixing (embodying nature), gawu (feeling objects), qingcai (emotion and expression), shensisi (inspiration), and qwyu (taste). It accurately and comprehensively summarizes the entire process of aesthetic psychological activity in four stages: from waizhi zaohua (learning from nature) to zaoyu jingshen (purifying the spirit), from zhong de xin yuan (finding the heart's source) to shen yu wuyou (spirit and object in harmony), from you xing ru shen (entering the spirit through form) to wome liangwang (forgetting self and object), and from ni rong qu xin (imitating form to capture the heart) to de yi wangyan (forgetting words to grasp the meaning). It adheres to the general laws of aesthetic psychology while also incorporating the unique characteristics of traditional Chinese aesthetic psychological thought. This approach applies a cross-sectional and dynamic research method to the study of traditional Chinese aesthetic psychological thought.
2. It reveals the four major aesthetic characteristics of traditional Chinese aesthetic psychology and their implications for contemporary quality education. Based on the "dimension of motion and stillness," the author contrasts traditional Chinese aesthetic psychology with Western aesthetics and summarizes its aesthetic features as "the charm of aesthetics":
1) "Beauty in harmony" – emphasizing a dialectical and harmonious view of art;
2) "Heart as the foundation" – highlighting the agency of the aesthetic subject;
3) "Form serving the Dao" – upholding the special status of natural beauty;
4) "Realm as the highest" – pursuing metaphysical philosophical insights.
Meanwhile, psychological analysis provides theoretical support for these four aesthetic characteristics. Based on this, the author elaborates on their value in contemporary education, examining the intrinsic connections between these characteristics and aspects of education: "heart as the foundation" and personality development, "form serving the Dao" and life awareness, "realm as the highest" and the return of sensibility, and "beauty in harmony" and the perfection of human nature. The author criticizes the misunderstanding of human essence in traditional Chinese aesthetic psychology, which led to empty personalities, and calls for modern education to reshape sound personalities.
3. It preliminarily constructs a model for aesthetic psychological quality education. The author does not study tradition for tradition's sake but emphasizes its modern value. We know that the success of aesthetic education hinges on establishing a clear, operationally suitable model for cultivating aesthetic qualities. To achieve this, aesthetic education must move from macro-level theoretical discussions to micro-level psychological operations. Therefore, the concept of "aesthetic psychological quality education" essentially represents the intersection of macro-level aesthetic education and micro-level psychological qualities, treating aesthetic qualities as an important psychological trait for research. This aims to internalize aesthetic education into the psychological structure of the educated and ultimately optimize individual psychological qualities. Building on traditional reviews and theoretical frameworks, the author boldly enters schools, conducting practical explorations in kindergartens in Suzhou. In areas such as the model of aesthetic psychological quality education for young children, curriculum construction for aesthetic psychological quality education, evaluation systems for aesthetic psychological quality education in primary and secondary schools, and training strategies and teaching models for aesthetic psychological quality education, the author has made valuable contributions, achieving preliminary results. This is commendable and represents an attempt to shift the study of the history of Chinese psychology from academia to the field.