Between the Tao and the Instrument: Notes on Art and Design Theory

Author: Li Xiangwei
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Features: The texts in this collection primarily involve decorative arts, design arts, and art education, representing some rational reflections on art practice over the years. Some of the texts have been published in domestic journals, with a time span of over a decade. For this collection, except for a few texts that have been slightly edited, most remain as they were. I have heard that Western philosophical tradition has a purely speculative metaphysical characteristic, while Chinese philosophical tradition tends to have more pragmatic rational tendencies. As for the strengths and weaknesses of the two, I cannot make an evaluation; but regarding art philosophy (also known as "aesthetics"), I believe that no matter how metaphysical it pursues, it still retains a practical characteristic. This is because art itself is an integration of the metaphysical "Dao" and the practical "instrument." If one aspect is omitted, art would no longer be what it is. From my own experience, over the past 30 years, I have been reflecting on what is written in a short essay included in this collection, and I have named it as the book title, "Between the Dao and the Instrument."