The object of aesthetic research is actually related to aesthetic research methods. The research object of the history of Chinese aesthetics is mainly aesthetic thoughts, and some systematic aesthetic theories and viewpoints are mainly influenced by western philosophical aesthetics. Western aesthetic historians obviously regard aesthetics as a branch of philosophy. Therefore, they mainly study aesthetics through the mutual infiltration of philosophical thought, literature and art and aesthetic thought. The earliest source of aesthetic thoughts and consciousness they pursued was in the speeches of some philosophers and aestheticians in ancient Greece. Bao Sangkui made it very clear: "If' aesthetics' refers to the philosophy of aesthetics, then the history of aesthetics naturally refers to the philosophy of beauty." [8](P5) His History of Aesthetics is based on three principles put forward by ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle: moralism, metaphysics and aesthetics. [8](P24) Another masterpiece of the history of western aesthetics, namely "The History of Aesthetics" co-authored by Gilbert and Kuhn, began with the debate on poetry and philosophy in ancient Greece. [9] This research method of western aestheticians has a great influence on China aestheticians. The History of Chinese Aesthetics, edited by Li Zehou and Liu Gangji, actually adopts such a research method. They wrote The History of Chinese Aesthetics, telling the occurrence and development of China's aesthetic thought from the rationalism in the pre-Qin period and Confucius' aesthetic thought, and drawing the conclusion that Confucianism is the main idea and the complementarity between Confucianism and Taoism is the basic track of China's ancient aesthetic thought development. Ye Lang's Outline of the History of Chinese Aesthetics also attaches great importance to this method. However, he positioned the starting point of aesthetic history in Laozi rather than Confucius, which greatly highlighted the great significance of Taoist philosophy and aesthetic thought in China's aesthetic history. Although Min Ze's History of China's Aesthetic Thought does not take a philosopher or a certain thought as the starting point for the study of Chinese aesthetic history, it emphasizes the significance of prehistoric aesthetic consciousness to the formation of China's aesthetic thought and traces back to the source of China's aesthetic consciousness. However, as far as its specific research methods are concerned, it still attaches great importance to the infiltration and influence of philosophical thoughts on aesthetic thoughts, focusing on the works and viewpoints of aesthetic thinkers.
People who attach importance to the history of aesthetic culture, aesthetic fashion and aesthetic art practice pay more attention to the particularity of China's aesthetic research and try to get rid of the influence of western philosophical aesthetic methods in methodology. Mr. Zong Baihua pointed out in an article written in the 1960s: "To understand the characteristics of western aesthetics, we must also focus on the background of western art, but most of them are philosophers' aesthetics. In China, aesthetic thoughts sum up artistic practice, which in turn affects the development of art "[10](P392) Mr. Lin Tonghua proposed to study the history of Chinese aesthetics by confirming aesthetic culture and aesthetic theory in his article On the research objects and methods of Chinese aesthetic history. He believes that this method is the research method of Chinese aesthetic history advocated by Mr Zong Baihua, that is, paying full attention to the particularity of China's aesthetic culture and aesthetic theory and the fundamental difference between eastern and western aesthetics, that is, the history of western aesthetics. It is a history of the development of aesthetic categories, propositions and theories with aesthetic philosophy as the main body and permeated with aesthetic psychology, aesthetic art and aesthetic technology. The history of oriental aesthetics (including the history of Chinese aesthetics) is a history of mutual confirmation of aesthetic culture and aesthetic theory. For example, many art buildings in the East, such as the pyramids, the Great Wall, the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, have no corresponding aesthetic theory system to explain them. Moreover, China's dance, architecture, gardens, sculptures, music, pottery, bronzes and jades are well developed, but there is no corresponding aesthetic theory to explain them. Therefore, only through the method of confirmation can this contradiction be solved. The so-called confirmation, according to Lin Yi Tonghua's explanation, is an aesthetic decision that can be made without words or words, and an intuitive aesthetic decision. Xu Ming believes that the study of the history of aesthetic fashion is fundamentally different from the history of aesthetic thought. It is not a ready-made judgment on what is beauty in the history of aesthetics, but a theoretical conclusion drawn from a large number of materials. It also covers a wide range, including four research levels: behavioral culture, material culture, spiritual culture and aesthetic theory. Chen Yan advocated the study of aesthetic cultural history. He believes that this kind of research, in the sense of methodology, is the integration and transcendence of the research on the history of aesthetic thought and the history of aesthetic state. It is neither a simple speculative reasoning nor a simple empirical analysis, but an explanation and description based on speculative results and empirical materials. [ 12]
In my opinion, the establishment of the above research objects and methods is applicable to the study of Chinese aesthetic history. But if both sides hold one end, it is incomplete and one-sided. For the study of Chinese aesthetic history, the study of philosophical aesthetic history and the application of philosophical aesthetic methods are very important. The study of aesthetic history is subject-oriented. We can't despise this kind of research just because China's ancient aesthetic theory is not as systematic and philosophical as the West. Because philosophy is the core of the spirit expression of a nation and an era, the problems of art and aesthetics should eventually be traced back to philosophical problems. Imagine, if you don't understand China's basic philosophical concepts such as Tao, Qi, Image, Harmony, Benevolence, Existence and Deficiency, and the basic concepts and spirit of China's philosophy represented by Confucianism, Taoism and Zen, how can you understand the composition of China's aesthetic spirit and aesthetic consciousness? The existing research results of China's aesthetic history books also show that this kind of research is fruitful. Among the published works on the history of Chinese aesthetics, I think the truly successful and original ones should be selected from the early 1980s, namely, The History of Chinese Aesthetics edited by Li Zehou and Liu Gangji, The Outline of the History of Chinese Aesthetics edited by Ye Lang and The History of China Aesthetic Thought edited by Min Ze. Their similarity is that they seek a theoretical fulcrum in philosophy, or they adopt Confucianism. These aesthetic histories, which mainly focus on philosophical aesthetics, reflect the face of Chinese aesthetic history to a certain extent and play a pioneering role in the establishment of the academic system of Chinese aesthetic history. In addition, there is another important reason why China's aesthetics is studied by philosophical method, and a history of Chinese aesthetics is regarded as the history of philosophical aesthetics, which is to avoid equating the history of aesthetics with the history of knowledge or the study of knowledge forms. In Archaeology of Knowledge, Foucault put forward the research method of archaeology in view of the ideological intervention in historical research. In his view, archaeological research is the abandonment of the historical research method of the history of ideas, and it is a "systematic rejection of its assumptions and procedures, and it tries to create another history that has already been said." [13](P 175) Some scholars who study the history of Chinese aesthetics also believe that "the history of aesthetics should study the original records and theoretical generalization of aesthetic consciousness." [14] I think these viewpoints imply the danger of turning the study of aesthetic history into a purely objective form of knowledge, which obliterates the brilliance of the study of aesthetic history. Hegel said: "The history of philosophy shows us a series of noble souls and an exhibition of many heroes with rational thinking." [15](P7) The history of philosophy and aesthetics should show the history of human spirit and spiritual development, and should not be original records and purely objective descriptions. To do this, the research subject must have a conscious philosophical consciousness. However, while using philosophical methods to study the evolution of Chinese aesthetic history and philosophical aesthetic history as a theoretical form, we must not ignore the particularity of the study of Chinese aesthetic history. This particularity, I think, is mainly manifested in the following aspects:
1. The history of Chinese aesthetics is not only a study of the history of philosophical aesthetics, but also a study of the history of aesthetic art. Mr. Zong Baihua proposed that the study of Chinese aesthetic history should not only pay attention to theoretical works, but also pay special attention to China's artistic creation for thousands of years. It is very important [16](P26) to study the history of Chinese aesthetics in the relationship between the aesthetic particularity and universality of various departments in ancient China, which is of great guiding significance to the study of the history of Chinese aesthetics. This is not only because the composition of China's aesthetics is different from that of western aesthetics, but also because there are obvious differences in theoretical systematicness and logical speculation. Aesthetic works mostly appear in the form of perception and appreciation, mostly views on specific art categories and summaries of artists' practical experience. Moreover, China's aesthetics has a very rich artistic aesthetic object (such as painted pottery and jade) since the primitive society, and it has appeared in almost every era. Zong Baihua repeatedly stressed that the study of Chinese aesthetic history is different from western aesthetics and should be closely combined with China's artistic practice, which is also based on the basic fact of Chinese aesthetic history. Mr. Lin Tonghua proposed to study the history of Chinese aesthetics with the method of mutual confirmation of aesthetic culture and aesthetic theory, which is also in line with the reality of Chinese aesthetic history. China's aesthetics has an important feature, that is, the aesthetic forms and artistic forms it faces are particularly rich. Not only poetry, painting, calligraphy, music, dance and drama have a long history, but also the aesthetic forms of architecture, sculpture, ceramics, jade and bronze are very developed. However, they have not been well summarized and expounded in aesthetic theory, which requires verification methods to solve this contradiction. For example, to confirm why pre-Qin aesthetics advocated "magnificence", why Han aesthetics had a heavy and magnificent atmosphere, why Wei-Jin aesthetics advocated "purity", and why Song-Yuan aesthetics turned to secularization and vulgarization, these are not problems that can be solved by the viewpoints and categories put forward by aesthetic thinkers and theorists, and must be confirmed through rich artistic aesthetic forms and phenomena at the same time. The study of the history of aesthetic art is actually to study the history of aesthetic theory and thought with the aesthetic culture of art, but while advocating the verification method, we should not underestimate the value of the theory itself, let alone replace the methods of aesthetic philosophy analysis and theoretical summary with aesthetic intuition, experience and sentiment. Because, although the object of aesthetic history is extensive, not only theoretical things, but also a large number of image forms and things that exist as artistic aesthetic objects, its main purpose is to establish the history of aesthetic concepts and thoughts. Therefore, we advocate to grasp the history of Chinese aesthetics by means of confirmation, which is also inseparable from the clues of the development of the history of aesthetic theory and the history of thought itself. Otherwise, our study of aesthetic history will become a general study of art history and lose its theoretical and spiritual connotation. Mr. Zong Baihua also provided us with a demonstration in this respect. For example, he used the technological example of "catalpa as a bamboo shoot" in Kao to illustrate the idea of "combination of reality and fiction", the original hexagram in Yijing to illustrate the relationship between literature and quality, and the Li hexagram in Yijing to illustrate the concept of "attaching beauty to beauty" in China's aesthetics.
Secondly, the study of the history of aesthetic culture and aesthetic fashion is of great significance to grasp China's aesthetic spirit. Because the aesthetic consciousness of a nation and an era cannot exist only in the theoretical works and viewpoints of aestheticians, thinkers and literary critics, it also exists in social etiquette, customs, cultural systems and cultural psychology, and in the artistic aesthetic practice related to these customs and etiquette systems. The study of aesthetic culture and fashion history is very necessary for expanding the field of aesthetic research and grasping the aesthetic consciousness and spiritual essence of a nation and an era more deeply. For example, it is very important to study the pre-Qin aesthetics and China ancient aesthetics, the nature of China culture, the position of primitive religion and myth in China culture, the origin of China ancient civilization, whether it is one center or multiple centers, the relationship between Xia, Shang and Zhou cultures, whether it is the same strain or drastic changes, and what significance the original Chinese characters, ritual culture and food culture have on the origin and development of China culture. For another example, when it comes to China's aesthetics, many people attach great importance to the aesthetic consciousness of life expressed in pre-Qin classics, such as Zhouyi, and the thoughts of Confucius, Laozi, Zhuangzi and Mencius. However, if we lack a deeper understanding of China culture, we can't look at it from a broader and more profound cultural background, such as ancient mythology and religion, reproductive culture and etiquette and diet culture in Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, so we can't trace back to the real aesthetic consciousness of life. For another example, if we don't understand the historical process of the evolution of Xia, Shang and Zhou civilizations, especially how the primitive witch culture evolved into sacrificial culture and ritual culture, we can't understand the influence of Confucian aesthetic spirit and Confucius' theory of benevolence, righteousness and propriety on China's aesthetics. Similarly, to explain the aesthetic thought and thinking characteristics of Taoist philosophy, it is difficult to understand the original thinking characteristics of China and southern Chu culture and witch history culture.
Therefore, the study of aesthetic culture and aesthetic fashion history is very important for the study of Chinese aesthetic history. This not only means the expansion of research fields, but also means the maturity of research methods and forms. However, while we emphasize the study of aesthetic cultural history and fashion history, we cannot simply attribute the history of Chinese aesthetics to the study of aesthetic cultural history and fashion history, because the most important purpose of the study of aesthetic history is to reveal the aesthetic consciousness and spirit of an era and a nation, and make it acquire theory and ideology. From the perspective of methodology, the study of aesthetic culture history and aesthetic custom history needs the guidance of aesthetic theory and thought. Without this guidance, it is actually very difficult to study the history of aesthetic culture and aesthetic fashion. Therefore, even if we attach importance to the study of aesthetic culture and aesthetic fashion history, we can't ignore the study of aesthetic theory and aesthetic thought history, and we can't separate or oppose the relationship between them. Comparatively speaking, the study of aesthetic theory and the history of aesthetic thought is in a more important position. The research on the history of aesthetic fashion and aesthetic culture is of universal significance only if it fully highlights the spiritual value and ideological connotation of an era and a nation. Some scholars put forward that the study of aesthetic fashion can be called aesthetic folklore, and think that the study of aesthetic fashion includes four levels: behavioral culture, material culture, spiritual culture and aesthetic theory. [1 1] This generalization inappropriately expands the research scope of aesthetic fashion history. It regards the study of aesthetic theory as an aspect of the study of fashion history, but ignores the guiding significance of the study of aesthetic theory and aesthetic thought to the study of aesthetic fashion history. Some scholars have suggested that the study of the history of aesthetic culture contains and surpasses the study of the history of aesthetic thought and the history of aesthetic state in both content and method. [12] This seems inappropriate to me. Because, according to our understanding of culture, it can be divided into broad sense and narrow sense. Culture in a broad sense includes material, system, customs, ideas and values, while culture in a narrow sense focuses on people's spiritual creation and its results, belonging to the field of spiritual culture. Although aesthetic culture does not exclude material culture, it mainly belongs to the field of spiritual culture. The ideological value belongs to the core level in the field of spiritual culture. Therefore, the study of the history of aesthetic culture can only point to but not contain and surpass the study of the history of aesthetic thought. Only by fully highlighting the ideological value and spiritual connotation of aesthetic history can it be truly meaningful and valuable.