In the aesthetic observation of artistic creation, the aesthetic subject often enters the "materialization" state of forgetting both things and myself, reaching the ultimate blend of subject and object. As an aesthetic relationship, "materialization", compared with categories such as "sensing" and "sensing things", more profoundly embodies the basic propositions of "the unity of nature and man" and "the unity of all things" in Chinese philosophical thought. Through aesthetic observation, the subject enters the peak of aesthetic experience, interacts with the object in feeling and consciousness, and completely transforms into one. As Zhuangzi said: "If you use your will without distinction, you will concentrate on the spirit." ("Zhuangzi. Da") "Biography") In my opinion, "materialization" is the free and unhindered fusion of the spirituality of the aesthetic subject and the materiality of the object, rather than the general "situational fusion". At this time, the subject's creativity reaches an unprecedented height due to the contemplation of the object, and the subject's spirituality is also highly awakened by the attachment of the object; the object as a "thing" is not a simple "thing". It is the infusion of the subject's spirituality that makes its "material nature" "bright." When Zhuangzi talked about "materialization", he said: "The spiritual platform is one but not separate" ("Zhuangzi. Dasheng"), which means that the spirituality of the subject and the materiality of the object become one without any hindrance. When Guo Xi and Guo Si, fathers and sons of the Song Dynasty, discussed landscape painting, they said: "If you want to seize the beauty of nature, there is nothing better than being good at it, nothing being diligent about it, nothing more than being full of travels, looking at it, and listing them all in your chest, but you can't see the silk with your eyes, and you don't know it with your hands. The brush and ink are honorable and indifferent, could it be my painting?" [15] [15] Zou Yigui, a native of the Qing Dynasty, described his experience of painting grass and insects in the Song Dynasty: "When I was young, I took a grass and insect cage and looked at it, and I never tired of it day and night. . And fearing that the spirit will not be completed, he returned to the grass to observe it, so that when he started writing, he did not know that I was a grass insect, and the grass insect was me! How can there be any method that can be passed down?”[16][16] The artistic creation produced by aesthetic observation completely transcends the distinction between subject and object, and enters a state of perfection. It also transcends rules and regulations to achieve perfection. freedom of aesthetic creation. Aesthetic observation must be intentional, that is to say, observation cannot be an objectless overview, but is directed at a specific related object. At the same time, in aesthetic observation, the object of observation must be connected with or imbued with the subject's consciousness. As one of the most basic concepts in phenomenological philosophy, "intentionality" may not be unfamiliar to us, but in order to interpret "aesthetic observation" with it, we must make corresponding explanations and understandings. For Edmund Hussrl, the official founder of phenomenology, "intentionality" is an important concept inherited from his teacher Brentano and modified. What it means is: conscious activity always points to a certain object. Intentionality as the basic structure of consciousness means that consciousness always points to a certain object, is always consciousness about a certain object, and the object can only be an intentional object. Husserl said: “We understand intentionality as a characteristic of experience, that is, as awareness of something.”[17][17] Contemplation is the observation of something, and something, as an object, can only be The object penetrated by the subject's aesthetic consciousness.
Aesthetic observation undoubtedly has perceptual characteristics, but it is not just perceptual. Observation cannot be separated from the role of vision, but it is also the focus of the mind. As for the object, what is grasped by contemplation is by no means only the perceptual image, but also includes the essence in intuition. What Buddhism says, "use your own wisdom and always observe", "if you have true prajna observation, you will reach the Buddha's land as soon as you realize it", etc., all mean the understanding of the reality of Buddhism. This is quite similar to the "essential intuition" (Wesensschau) of phenomenology. Professor Ni Liangkang, a well-known phenomenological scholar, explained "essential intuition" and said: "The essential intuition (conceptual intuition) of phenomenology originated from the expansion of the concept of intuition adopted by Husserl in "Logical Investigations". On the basis of individual intuition On the other hand, a universal consciousness constructs itself in the "idealized abstraction". In this universal consciousness, the idea of ??this individual thing, its universal thing, becomes the present given. -----Hosse. He later said: This essence---is given not as a kind of symbolic thinking, but as an intuition, a perception of universal things." [18] [18] It can be said that aesthetic observation is the insight. It is the ontological thing contained in the representation.
The psychological function most closely related to aesthetic observation is perception. Observation is perceptual and intuitive, but what is presented to the subject's mind during observation is mainly perception. It is a comprehensive and complete perception as a whole, rather than scattered and partial sensory impressions. Huida said, "Those who understand the truth are inseparable, and the enlightenment words are extremely illuminating. With the enlightenment of non-duality, the principle of indivisibility is fulfilled." What Tao Sheng said, "The truth is natural, and enlightenment is also a talisman. There is no difference in truth." , how easy is it to realize? (So enlightenment requires enlightenment) It is difficult to understand, but the things that are confusing are not in my ears.” It points to the ultimate and overall "reality" rather than decomposable and isolated partial knowledge or impressions. Yan Yu of the Song Dynasty said, "An antelope hangs its horns and there is no trace to be found. Therefore, its beauty is thorough and exquisite, and cannot be ignored." Like the sound in the air, the color in the picture, the moon in the water, the image in the mirror, the words are endless but the meaning is endless." ("Canglang Poetry Talk. Poetry Analysis") Although we are talking about the aesthetic realm of poetry, we can also talk about it from the perspective of the subject. It is understood as the overall meaning of perception.
The perception brought about by aesthetic observation is very rich and unified, and this perception is based on the subject's aesthetic emotion and interest in some way. The degree of transformation. Zheng Xie, a man from the Qing Dynasty, best illustrates the problem when he talks about the aesthetic appreciation of bamboo. He said: "When you look at bamboo in the early morning in Jiangguan, the smoke, sun shadow, and dew are all floating among the sparse branches and dense leaves. The bamboo in the chest is not the bamboo in the eyes. The bamboo in the hand is not the bamboo in the chest. "[20][20] Qiao's so-called "bamboo in the chest" can be regarded as the subject's aesthetic perception. It is full of vitality, full of movement, and extremely rich, and it contains the aesthetic enjoyment that the subject obtains during contemplation. The author of the poem said: "The divine principles flow between the two, and the heaven and the earth serve as one eye. They are both vast and detailed. Before the pen is written, the craftsmanship begins, and there is something unknown that exists."[21][21] The famous phenomenological aesthetician Geiger said of the "truth" of aesthetic appreciation: "The characteristic of aesthetic enjoyment lies in the intuitive richness of the object it observes."[22][22] It is particularly helpful to explain. The richness of perception in aesthetic observation.
Phenomenological aesthetics attaches great importance to the status of perception in essential intuition. Husserl has laid a solid foundation in his transcendental phenomenology. The phenomenological classic "Logical Investigations" discusses the filling of perceptual representations. He said: "The filling of representations is the sum of those determinations subordinate to itself, by means of which it transforms its object into a The way of analogy is to make it present, or to grasp it as what is given in itself. ---The clearer the representation, the stronger its vitality, and the higher the level of imagery it has reached; the richer the representation will be. According to this, the ideal of fullness can be achieved in a representation that completely contains the object and its phenomenological content. If we count those individualized determinations as the fullness of the object, then the ideal of fullness must not be achieved. It will be imagination, rather it is only perception.”[23][23] Husserl here actually refers to the perceptual representations obtained through essential intuition. Their “fullness” is not fragmented, but unified and vital. It is "lively". When the famous phenomenology historian Herbert Spiegeberg discussed the "intentional" characteristics of Husserl's phenomenology in his famous book "The Phenomenological Movement", He once pointed out that one of the characteristics is the "unity of intention", and he said: "The next step in the objectification function of intention is that it enables us to attribute various continuous materials to the same correlate or 'pole' of meaning. Without this unifying function, there are only streams of perceptions, which are similar but never identical. Intentions provide a synthesis whereby all aspects, appearances, and layers of an object are concentrated and merged into a single core.
” ([24][24] Spiegelberg also concluded: “Intention is a characteristic of any activity that not only directs the activity toward an object, but also (a) presents to us a full The method of consciousness interprets the material given in advance, (b) establishes the identity of several intentional activity correlates, (c) connects the different stages of the intuitive fulfillment of intention, and (d) constitutes the intended object.” ( (ibid., page 158) Although the conclusion here may not entirely conform to the perceptual characteristics of aesthetic observation, in terms of its integrity, it is still enlightening from the famous phenomenological aestheticians Merleau-Ponty and Dufhener. Both take the study of perception as the cornerstone of their phenomenology. The former is famous for his "Phenomenology of Perception". He believes that perception is the core research object of phenomenology, which finally leads him to transcendent aesthetics. Problem. In his view, only what is felt can be experienced, and only what is perceived can be grasped. If a person is outside of perception and experience, then he has no access to truth and the understanding of truth. Perception can give brilliance to the human soul. Merleau-Ponty emphasized the comprehensiveness of perception. He told us this profound statement: "Perception opens a world to me." [25][25] Dufhener's phenomenology. Aesthetics, is especially famous for its incisive discussion of aesthetic perception. Dufhener believes that the special difference between subject and object contained in the concept of intentionality can best be explained by analyzing perception. Dufhener in his representative work. "The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Experience" takes aesthetic perception as the main research goal. He believes that "the aesthetic object is completed in perception."[26][26] In Dufhener's phenomenological aesthetic research, feeling, Imagination and other psychological functions are subordinate to perception in aesthetic activities. Du Shi also attaches great importance to emotion, meaning and depth in aesthetic perception, which is quite enlightening for our understanding of aesthetic contemplation. There is a clear statement on this issue in "Aesthetics and Philosophy": "When perception deepens into emotion, perception receives a meaning of the aesthetic object. We once advocated this meaning as expression, and this expression is what semantics calls connotation. The characteristic of this meaning is that it is read directly from the object, not added to the perception, not its extension or annotation, but felt in the center of perception. Therefore, the subject and the object are deeply connected. Deeply involved in this experience."[27][27] Another American philosopher V.C. Aldrich also elaborated on the overall nature of aesthetic perception from a phenomenological perspective. He said: "We are not free from this. kind of factor, but emphasizes the integrity of aesthetic perception. This kind of perception is more reasonable than the usual perception. According to [this aesthetic. Perceptual perspective, the function of which is to reveal the underlying organic unity of experience, or to create this wholeness through the judicious ordering of sensory experience, thus rescuing experience from its often fragmented and impoverished structure. "[28][28] In the process of aesthetic observation, perception plays such an important role. The meaning, depth and subject's emotion of the aesthetic object are all filled with this perceptual direct presentation.
For the aesthetic object under observation, everything outside is "suspended". "Suspension" is also a basic method of phenomenology. Husserl also called it "bracketing", which is a fundamental stance adopted by phenomenological philosophy towards the world of empirical facts. In fact, the "patent" of this method should not only belong to phenomenology as a contemporary Western philosophical school. It can be said that it has existed in Chinese philosophy for a long time. Zhuangzi said, "Use your will without distinction, but focus on the spirit." Except for the object of observation, you should turn a blind eye to other things. What else can it be than "suspending"? Precisely because of its "suspending" of other things, the object observed by the subject is "unconcealed" and revealed. It glows with the brilliance of freedom and is exposed in the subject's field of vision. There is a concept of "appearance" in phenomenology, which is just suitable for the presentation of aesthetic objects in aesthetic observation.
The famous German phenomenologist Klaus Held said: "The so-called 'appearance' (Erscheinen) means: emerging from an unilluminated background."[29][29] (This This is what Heidegger calls "the state of clarity". Van Gogh's "Farmer's Shoes" and the Greek temple[30][30] described by Heidegger in a poetic style are actually "the state of clarity" in aesthetic observation. Appearance, in Heidegger’s words, “opens up a world” (“The Origin of Works of Art”), which is also the “state of clarity.” Heidegger expressed this state in more poetic language: “ This clarity is also joy, under its influence, everything wanders freely. Clarity keeps everything in peace and integrity--it is the highest and sacred to the poet. It is the same thing that is clarity. As the source of all happiness, clarity is bliss. Through joyful clarity, it illuminates the human spirit so that its nature can be opened to those who are authentic in their fields, cities, and homes. "([31][31]) The horizon of aesthetic observation is so bright, free and full of poetry, and so broad, profound and full of meaning. It is the manifestation of sensibility and the enlightenment of ontology." There is a true meaning in it, but I have forgotten the words even if I try to distinguish it." "I never get tired of seeing both, but Jingting Mountain is the only one." This is almost a situation of aesthetic contemplation!
Written in the heat of August 6, 2003 Yu Jinghua