Chinese Aesthetics Studies (Volume 1)

Author: Zhu Zhirong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Based on a reinterpretation of Marx's theory of practice, a reexamination of domestic practice-oriented aesthetics, and an inspiration from Heidegger's existentialist aesthetics, this article points out that the traditional epistemological model of subject-object dichotomy limits the innovation and development of contemporary Chinese aesthetics. It argues that confining the concept of practice to material production labor is narrow, as practical activities also include moral, political, economic activities, as well as human aesthetic and artistic activities. It holds that Marx's theory of practice aligns with Heidegger's existentialism in the concept of "human existence in the world," thereby proposing a theory of practical existentialist aesthetics. This reflects the current reality of Chinese aesthetics, which holds that practice is the fundamental way of human existence. It also asserts that aesthetic activity is a basic form of human existence and a fundamental life practice. Beauty is realized in aesthetic activity rather than being pre-existing. Aesthetics represents a higher realm of life.