Great Wall of China: An Overview

Author: Writing Group of "Introduction to Art"
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: This book is a foundational theoretical textbook for higher education institutions in art, one of the key selections from the "Major Series of Chinese Art Education" organized by the Education and Technology Department of the Ministry of Culture. Based on the nationwide unified textbook "Introduction to Art" organized by the former Art Education Administration of the Ministry of Culture in 1981, this book incorporates some new achievements from contemporary and modern aesthetics and literary studies, integrates various emerging art phenomena and issues since the 1980s, and addresses the current literary and artistic thought of art college students. It is a newly revised art theory textbook. The writing of this book strives to be guided by the stance, viewpoint, and methodology of Marxism, adhering to the fundamental principles and basic tenets of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, while maintaining the scientificity of its content and the completeness of its system. Starting from reality, it seeks to provide positive theoretical interpretations of art issues since the 20th century and the new research topics and art phenomena that have emerged in China's literary and artistic circles over the past two decades. The "Introduction to Art" consists of six chapters: Chapter 1: On the Nature of Art, Chapter 2: On Art Genres, Chapter 3: On the Development of Art, Chapter 4: On Art Creation, Chapter 5: On Art Works, and Chapter 6: On Art Reception. It should be noted that these six chapters are independent but not isolated; they form a whole and a complete system, with an inherent logical relationship between them. First, from a broad perspective, the first three chapters and the last three chapters can be divided into two major parts. The first part includes the chapters on the nature of art, art genres, and the development of art, which can be considered the general theory of the book. It explores the essence of art, the characteristics of various art forms, their shared aesthetic features, and the objective laws of the emergence and development of art from both a philosophical height and a historical breadth, thereby establishing the basic theoretical framework of art from the outside. The second part includes the chapters on art creation, art works, and art reception, delving into the ontological nature of art and systematically studying the creative subject, creative activity, creative outcomes, and the post-creative issues of art, revealing the universal laws of art creation and art appreciation. In summary, these two major parts are not mutually disconnected or parallel; they have an inevitable logical connection and form a systematic process.