Mr. Zong believes that "reality" is the image created by the artist, and "emptiness" is the imagination aroused by the appreciator. Mr. Zong also pointed out that the problem of emptiness and reality is a "problem of philosophical world outlook". On this issue, Confucianism and Taoism are different. Laozi and Zhuangzi changed from virtual to real, and Confucius and Mencius changed from real to virtual. It is pointed out that both Confucianism and Taoism believe that the universe is virtual and real, so it is not contradictory. Then, Mr Zong quoted A Qing as saying, "Real scenes are empty" and "Real scenes force God to live". Isn't Da Zhongguang's words "from reality to fiction"? Does Mr Zong think that Confucian philosophy and aesthetic concepts are the source of China's traditional aesthetics? When I read Mr. Zong's sentence, "People in the Jin and Song Dynasties appreciate mountains and rivers, from reality to emptiness, that is, reality is emptiness, and transcend the realm of metaphysics."
Teacher Zong mentioned another group of concepts "ethereal and substantial" in aesthetic walking. "Empty and full" and "empty and solid" are not the same thing. Emptiness and enrichment are divided from the angle of artistic style or aesthetic feeling. Any work of art is both empty and solid, but it can't be both ethereal and substantial. From the perspective of painting, pure blank (emptiness) does not exist, but exists against the background of scenery. In this sense, the existence of "emptiness" depends on "reality". Therefore, it is no problem to "empty the real scene". An excellent painting, naturally, is a combination of reality and reality, rather than a simple virtual or simple reality. Laozi and Zhuangzi are from the virtual to the real, from the virtual to the real, from the ethereal to the vivid; Confucius and Mencius changed from reality to emptiness, from strength to reality, from intention to emptiness, from enrichment to understanding. Therefore, Laozi and Zhuangzi's transition from emptiness to reality means that their aesthetic thoughts are ethereal; Confucius and Mencius changed from reality to emptiness, which means that their aesthetic thoughts are rich. As for "Jin and Song people admire mountains and rivers, from reality to emptiness", it should refer to the change of aesthetic focus from reality to emptiness, that is, from enrichment to emptiness. Because of the simplicity and difference of classical Chinese (although Mr. Zong said it), the word "from reality to emptiness" should not have the same meaning. Mr. Zong thinks that emptiness, reality, existence and nothingness are "the principles of all composition". "The combination of reality and reality" is the core of China's aesthetic thought. What Mr. Zong appreciates is the "revolving interest" of "seeing the infinite in the finite and seeing the finite in the infinite", which corresponds to the three steps of artistic transmission: realism-vivid-wonderful enlightenment. Mr. Zong emphasized that landscape painting is a kind of "spiritual space" and paid more attention to ethereal beauty. Do virtual reality and make virtual space become real life. Mr. Zong believes that vanity is "the most vivid source of life" and "the source of all things, the root of all things, and endless creativity." Blank is the foundation of Chinese painting, and void contains everything; Blank is integrated into Vientiane, which is consistent with the "Tao" of Vientiane. Mr. Zong believes that "the emptiness in the artistic realm is not a vacuum, but a enrichment, and there is a kind of' far-reaching' close to the' true meaning'." So Mr Zong thinks that China's landscape paintings in Song and Yuan Dynasties are the most realistic works. Not only painting, but also sculpture. There is no blank in sculpture, but the fantastic collocation of light and shadow well reflects the expressive force of "emptiness". "The way to get out of shape is to give up your figure and enjoy the shadow. Although the shadow is empty, it can vividly show the subtle and difficult truth in life. " The same is true of calligraphy. Mr. Zong believes that the image of calligraphy includes not only lines, but also blanks. It is the virtual spirit in the blank that makes "this word is a stream of life, a dance and a piece of music."
What is "dancing"? Mr. Zong believes that "dance" is the combination of the highest reason and the highest life. "In this kind of dance, rigorous flow is like the order of architecture for music, while convergence is for rhythm." In Mr Zong's view, "dance" is a typical example of all artistic realms in China, which is derived from dance movements, "showing emptiness" and "showing dance and expressing life". "Dance" symbolizes the creation of the universe, and embodies Tao in still photos, which also embodies China's philosophical thoughts of "no distinction between Tao and utensils" and "no distinction between body and use".
What is Tao? "One yin and one yang is the way." Everything is born of yin and yang. Teacher Zong believes that life is a rhythmic life in the change of Yin and Yang and the movement of all things, and "vivid charm" is the highest purpose of China's art. "The teacher said in class that vivid charm is not only manifested in concrete objects, but also in the void outside the objects. In his book "Aesthetic Walking", Mr. Zong often mentioned "observing Tao with an open mind". Tao is the soul of the universe, the source of life and the essence of beauty. However, this "Tao" is not an isolated entity, nor an impenetrable virtual body. As the essence of aesthetic object, it exists in the "art" of "soaring everything", that is, the aesthetic time and space of "seeing vulgarity in the empty place and seeing emptiness in the vulgar place" as Mr. Zong said. True and false have a source, and they are unique. The emptiness of Tao body is reflected in daily life, and the essence of beauty is presented in this vast world. " "Viewing Tao" is to deeply understand the soul and life in the object representation with aesthetic eyes and feelings, and to complete and highlight an aesthetic object. Reading Mr. Zong's Aesthetic Walking, we feel the breath of life, the rhythm of life and the concern for life. As mentioned earlier, both "dance" and "Tao" are manifested as a kind of movement. "This endless Yin and Yang constitute a rhythmic life. "Mr. Zong attaches importance to' emptiness' because' emptiness' can make works vivid and give them vitality." The vitality of life itself is the source of all beauty, so' nature is invincible'. "On the other hand, Mr. Zong's aesthetics shows concern for life everywhere. Mr. Zong has always insisted on "the artistry of life" and "the humanization of art". Mr. Zong emphasizes that beauty comes from the soul ("all beautiful light comes from the source of the soul") and pursues a "freest and richest physical and mental self." Jin people discover nature externally and deep feelings internally. The scenery is illusory and emotional. "Mr. Zong emphasized' the interest of communication' and' I belong in the boundless land': heaven and earth enter my home'." Life is virtue ",and the" life "of innovation itself is a kind of meaning and value, and it is a kind of" goodness "; The "order" of "born of order" is full of rhythm and rhythm. Harmony, like music, means interest and value. Mr Zong's life aesthetics is based on his philosophy of "life ontology". Paying attention to the interest and value of life and emphasizing the unity of mind and body of Tao and body, which runs through ancient and modern times, from the will of Laozi and Confucius in pre-Qin to Mr. Zong Baihua in modern times, has become one of the important connotations of China traditional aesthetics. As Mr Zong said, "China's philosophy is to understand the rhythm of Tao by life itself. "Under Mr. Zong's life aesthetics, Mr. Zong also put forward an" artistic outlook on life "and advocated treating" life "as" art "to make it rich, beautiful and meaningful.
The article about beauty in Aesthetic Walking vividly highlights a spirit of roaming in art and a gesture of pursuing artistic life. The articles are not arranged according to the time of writing and publication, but according to several major themes: self-reported ways of doing research, China's aesthetics, the characteristics of China's art and several monographs of western aesthetics. It may not be easy to grasp the changing track of Zong Baihua's aesthetic thought, but the aspects he focused on in academic research and his methods to deal with these academic problems can still be fully understood. However, there is still a mystery in my heart: Why did Zong Baihua, who was deeply influenced by German philosophy of life in his early years, devote himself to studying the ancient aesthetic spirit of China after returning from Europe? What is the turning point of this change? How did it happen? Perhaps only teachers can appreciate the urgency and pressure of the choice behind the change.
Compared with the aesthetics of ancient western Europe, China's ancient aesthetics is fragmented, not systematic enough and not philosophical enough. However, this does not mean that China's aesthetics does not have its own characteristics, but it means that it can be excavated without scratching its boots with the intervention of a special way. This special way is actually a call: the light of life. Zong Baihua's aesthetic approach may be precisely this kind of life's induction to academics. There are two levels of learning. One is knowledge, that is, it can cover a wide range of parties and appear rich. This level can also become everyone, but it will eventually appear thin; The second level is faith, that is, to promote learning to a belief that can lead practice. At this time, learning is no longer learning, but life, which will be very heavy. Everyone in this kind of learning is already an artist, such as Nietzsche.
As Liu Xiaofeng summed up: As an aesthete, Zong Baihua's basic position is to explore the creation of life as a work of art. In Zong Baihua's view, art is first of all a life problem, art is a kind of outlook on life, and an' artistic life' is a valuable and meaningful life.
The words that appear most frequently in Zong Baihua's Aesthetic Walk are: universe, life, art, beauty, soul, rhythm, melody, dance, musicalization and experience. These words not only illustrate the artistic perfection of China, but also reveal the life perfection of the enlightener. Wittgenstein said: To imagine a language is to imagine a life form. Similarly, imagining an art (not to mention knowing it, and art is also a "language form") means choosing a way of life.
Therefore, Zong Baihua chose a pure China art, which also shaped an indifferent and enlightened lifestyle. Perhaps Zong Baihua wanted to experience the pleasure of China's art reaching perfection, and his choice was unique. However, the art in the world is rich and colorful, so life should also be diversified. Besides, there are other kinds of perfection in life. China's ancient aesthetics was lucky to meet Zong Baihua, because he learned Chinese and Western well, jumped out and plunged into it, and this macho man was deeply rooted. It is also in Zong Baihua's articles that all aspects of China's aesthetics have been refined and promoted to the extreme. It may have been discovered before him, but it is impossible to penetrate an extremely profound and sincere life consciousness like him, which may be due to his in-depth study of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche's philosophy of life.
China's philosophy, the spatial consciousness in China's poems and paintings, and the typical spirit in China's art are integrated into a trinity problem by Zong Baihua: the way of speaking "Yin and Yang" tends to the music field and permeates the dance of time rhythm calligraphy; In fact, they all embody a spirit: human consciousness, harmony between Tao and life, and harmony between individual life and infinite universe.
It can be said that Zong Baihua pushed China's experience aesthetics to the extreme, and it is difficult for later generations to be second to none. As an aesthetic enlightenment, he became a symbol of the beauty of Tao. However, we should take advantage of the light of the walker to go into the vast world to keep searching, which has formed its own unique characteristics and style in China's art.