Art Volume - Modern Teacher Reader

Author: Chen Xiejun, Huang Yufeng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Traditional Chinese aesthetics holds that the essence of art is "yijing" (imagery), and the fundamental definition of "yijing" is the fusion of scene and emotion (this will be discussed further later). Any artistic work must create imagery, and therefore any artistic work should also fuse scene and emotion. However, not all artistic works possess "yijing." "Yijing" not only shares the general defining characteristics of "yijing" (fusion of scene and emotion) but also has its own specific defining characteristics. The connotation of "yijing" is greater than that of "yijing," while its denotation is smaller than that of "yijing." What are the specific defining characteristics of "yijing"? This is the question I will discuss today.
II. Tracing Back to Laozi's Philosophy
To clarify the connotation of "yijing," we must trace back to Laozi's philosophy. This is because the ideological roots of the theory of "yijing" lie in Laozi's philosophy. I believe that the starting point of classical Chinese aesthetics is Laozi's philosophy and aesthetics. I have elaborated on this issue in the "Outline of the History of Chinese Aesthetics." Of course, some scholars in academia disagree with this view. This topic is not discussed today. I believe that starting from Laozi, classical Chinese aesthetics gradually formed several important theories. One important theory is the theory of "yijing." The theory of "yijing" is a theory about the essence of art. The culmination of this theory is Wang Fuzhi. Wang Fuzhi established an aesthetic system centered around aesthetic imagery. Wang Fuzhi discussed poetry. What is poetry (art)? Wang Fuzhi drew two boundaries.
The first boundary is the distinction between "poetry" and "zhi" ("zhi" refers to thoughts and emotions, or "emotion and thought are one"). Wang Fuzhi pointed out that many people are confused about this issue. "Poetry expresses zhi"—this is correct, art always aims to express human thoughts and emotions. However, "zhi" is not equal to "poetry," and "yi" (imagery) is not necessarily equal to "poetry." In the 1980s, some writers in China's literary circles advocated that the essence of art is emotion, treating "zhi" as "poetry." In reality, the expression of emotion is something everyone has, but it cannot be said that everyone is an artist. When you are angry, you might curse, and when you are sad, you might cry uncontrollably, but that is not art—no one would come to appreciate you cursing or crying. Of course, you might say that cursing well or crying well is also art. I admit that as well. But in that case, things have changed—it has become "yijing."
The second boundary Wang Fuzhi drew is the distinction between "poetry" and "shi" ("shi" refers to historical records). Wang Fuzhi believed that "poetry" and "shi" have different natures and tasks and cannot replace each other. He, like Yang Shen (Sheng'an) of the Ming Dynasty, opposed the Song Dynasty's label of Du Fu as "poetic history." "How vulgar the Song Dynasty's perspective is—it is not worthy of discussing poetry." He thought that Du Fu's works praised by the Song Dynasty as "poetic history" were not Du Fu's best works. "They have more to do with history than poetry." Poetry and historical records are different—they have a distance from records. "Poetry is not 'zhi,' and poetry is not 'shi.' So what is 'poetry'? 'Poetry is 'yijing.'"
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