The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition

282 Pages·2009·2.47 MB·English

by  Li Zehou

CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
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thought. Among the examples he cites are The Chinese Classic of Family Reverence E

early Confucian explanations of poetry A PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSLATION OF THE XIAOJING C

as that which gives expression to intent; H LI ZEHOU (B. 1930) has been an
Henry Rosemont, Jr., and Roger T. Ames
OF RELATED
Zhuangzi’s artistic depictions of the ideal I influential thinker in China since the
2008, 152 pages
INTEREST N
personality who discerns the natural way CLOTH: ISBN 978-0-8248-3284-1 THE CHINESE 1950s. Before moving to the U.S. in the
E
of things and lives according to it; and PAPER: ISBN 978-0-8248-3348-0 wake of the Tiananmen Square protests
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Chan Buddhist-inspired notions that na- E AESTHETIC TRADITION of 1989, Li published works on Kant and
In the Confucian tradition, human morality and the personal realization it
ture and words can come together to yield traditional and contemporary Chinese
inspires are grounded in the cultivation of family feeling. One may even go A
insight and enlightenment. In this endur- E philosophy. The present volume is a trans-
so far as to say that, for China, family reverence was a necessary condition
ing and stimulating work, Li demonstrates S lation of his Huaxia meixue (1989), which
for developing any of the other human qualities of excellence. On the basis LI ZEHOU
T
conclusively the fundamental role of aes- is considered to be one of Li’s most sig-
of the present translation of the Xiaojing (Classic of Family Reverence) and H
translated by Maija Bell Samei
thetics in the development of the cultural nificant works. Apart from its value as an
supplemental passages found in other early philosophical writings, Profes- E
and psychological structures in Chinese introduction to the philosophy of one of
sors Rosemont and Ames articulate a specifically Confucian conception of T
culture that define “humanity.” contemporary China’s foremost intellectu-
“role ethics” that, in its emphasis on a relational conception of the person, is I
C
als, The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition fills an
markedly different from most early and contemporary dominant Western mor-

LI ZEHOU was a key figure in the intellec- T important gap in the literature of Chinese
al theories. This Confucian role ethics takes as its inspiration the perceived
tual foment of the 1980s. A philosopher R aesthetics in English. It presents Li’s syn-
necessity of family feeling as the entry point in the development of moral
of aesthetics and historian of Chinese A thesis of the entire trajectory of Chinese
competence and as a guide to the religious life as well.
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thought, as well as China’s preeminent aesthetic thought, from ancient times to
In the lengthy introduction, two senior scholars offer their perspective on
I
authority on Kant, Li is the author of The the early modern period, incorporating
the historical, philosophical, and religious dimensions of the Xiaojing. Together T
Path of Beauty: A Study of Chinese Aesthet- I pre-Confucian and Confucian ideas, Dao-
with this introduction, a lexicon of key terms presents a context for the Xiaojing
O
ics (1995), and Four Essays on Aesthetics: ism, Chan Buddhism, and the influence
and provides guidelines for interpreting the text historically in China as well as
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Toward a Global View (with Jane Cauvel, of Western philosophy during the late-
suggesting its contemporary significance for all societies. The inclusion of the
2006). A senior research fellow and re- imperial period. As one of China’s major
Chinese text adds yet another dimension to this important study.
tired professor of the Chinese Academy of contemporary philosophers and a pre-
Social Sciences, Li has since 1991 resided eminent authority on Kant, Li is uniquely
L
in the United States, where he makes his I positioned to observe this trajectory and
JACKET CALLIGRAPHY: Ren Qingguo Z
home in Boulder, Colorado. JACKET DESIGN: Julie Matsuo-Chun E make it intelligible to today’s readers.
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The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition touches
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MAIJA BELL SAMEI is an independent on all areas of artistic activity, including
U
UNIVERSITY of HAWAI‘I PRESS
scholar. She is the author of Gendered poetry, painting, calligraphy, architecture,
Persona and the Poetic Voice: The Aban- HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I 96822-1888 and the “art of living.” According to Li,
doned Woman in Early Chinese Song Lyrics right government, the ideal human being,
ISBN 978-0-8248-3307-7
(2004) and holds a doctorate in Chinese and the path to spiritual transcendence all
90000
literature from the University of Michigan. come under the provenance of aesthetic
9 780824 833077
www.uhpress.hawaii.edu { CONTINUED ON BACK FLAP }
The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition
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The Chinese
Aesthetic Tradition
Li Zehou
translated by Maija Bell Samei
University of Hawai‘i Press
Honolulu
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© 2010 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11 10 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Li, Zehou.
[Huaxia mei xue. English]
The Chinese aesthetic tradition / Li Zehou ; translated by Maija Bell Samei.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8248-3307-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8248-3307-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Aesthetics, Chinese—History. I. Samei, Maija Bell. II. Title.
BH221.C6L4913 2010
111'.850951—dc22
2009035820
The translated poem on p. 147 previously appeared in Maija Bell Samei, Gendered Per­
sona and Poetic Voice (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2004), and in Zongqi Cai, ed.,
How to Read Chinese Poetry (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008).
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free
paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Council on Library Resources.
Designed by the University of Hawai‘i Press Production Staff
Printed by The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
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Contents
Preface to the First Edition vii
Translator’s Introduction ix
Chapter 1 The Rites and Music Tradition 1
Society and Nature: The Pre-Confucian Tradition • Feeling and
Form in the Rites and Music Tradition • Politics and Art
Chapter 2 Confucian Humanism 39
Conscious Humanity in the Analects • The Perfection of
Human Personality • Time, Emotion, and the Apprehension of
Mortality • Morality and Vitality in Mencius • The Unity of
Heaven and Humans in Xunzi and the Book of Changes
Chapter 3 The Daoist-Confucian Synthesis 76
“Free and easy wandering”: Zhuangzi’s Aesthetic View of
Life • The Broadening of the Aesthetic Object • The Unconscious
Chapter 4 Beauty in Deep Emotion 117
A New Reflection on Mortality • Noumenal Inquiry and
Experience • Imaginary Reality
Chapter 5 Metaphysical Pursuits 160
Eternity and Subtle Awakening • Lingering Flavor and
Blandness • The Return to Confucianism and Daoism
v
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vi Contents
Chapter 6 Toward Modernity 194
From Desire to Innate Sensibility • The Influence of Western
Aesthetics • Media and Categorization
Epilogue 223
Notes 225
Index 249
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Preface to the First Edition
What I mean by “Chinese aesthetics” in this volume is Confucian-based tradi-
tional Chinese aesthetics. Because of the length and depth of its sociohistorical
foundations, and due to its rich development through the continual absorption
and assimilation of various other schools of thought, Confucianism has formed
the mainstay of Chinese culture, as I have demonstrated elsewhere. This book
considers the same phenomenon from the point of view of aesthetics.
This work was completed at the Institute of East Asian Philosophies in Sin-
gapore. Earlier versions of Chapters 3, 4, and 5 were published in my book Zou
wo ziji de lu but have been extensively rewritten and expanded here. I would
like to thank here, for their assistance on numerous occasions, the Institute’s
director, Professor Wu Deyao, and assistant director, Mrs. Jeannie Toong; fel-
low scholars Gu Zhengmei, PhD, and Mr. Li Zhonghua; and, in the library,
Head Librarian Li Jinsheng, and Miss Pan Lilian.
Alas! Green trees, red flowers, the Lion City like a painting;
New acquaintances, old friends—amity rises to the clouds;
The time of separation draws near—how can one not be reluctant to part?
—Li Zehou, Hunan, 1988
vii
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Translator’s Introduction
Contemporary Chinese philosopher Li Zehou (b. 1930) has been an influential
thinker in China since the 1950s, but became a particularly important figure
on the cultural scene during the “culture fever” of the 1980s. A member of
the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li left
China for the United States after his works were banned in China following the
Tiananmen Square incident in 1989, as authorities feared their possible role
in inspiring dissent against the leadership of the Communist Party. The pres-
ent volume is a translation of Li’s Huaxia meixue (1989), a work he regards as
one of his most important. Because it is beyond the realm of my expertise to
attempt a comprehensive discussion of Li Zehou’s philosophical framework or
of his significance to contemporary Chinese thought and society, I am glad to
be able to refer the reader to the works listed below, under “Suggested Read-
ings.” I will confine my discussion here to a few key terms in Li’s aesthetics, and
to the broad contours of Li’s argument in this book.
Quite apart from its value as an introduction to the philosophy of one of
contemporary China’s foremost thinkers, an English translation of Li Zehou’s
The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition fills an important gap in the literature on Chi-
nese aesthetics in English, as works that address Chinese aesthetic theory have
for the most part treated either literature or art but rarely both. This work pre-
sents Li’s synthesis of the whole trajectory of Chinese aesthetic thought, from
the earliest times through the beginning of the modern period, incorporat-
ing pre-Confucian and Confucian ideas, Daoism, Chan Buddhism, and the
influence of Western thought beginning in the late imperial period. As one of
China’s major aesthetic Marxists1 and China’s preeminent authority on Kant, Li
is uniquely positioned to observe this trajectory and make it intelligible to con-
temporary readers, discussing the Chinese aesthetic tradition with reference to
comparable trends in Western aesthetic thought.
ix
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