I just said that there are several views on everything. When you say something is beautiful or ugly, it is just an opinion. Another way of looking at it, you say it is true or false; another way of looking at it, you say it is good or evil. There are many different views on the same thing, and there are also many different phenomena.
② Take the ancient pine in the garden, for example. No matter you, me or anyone sees it, they all say it is an ancient pine. But you look at it from the front, I look at it from the side, you look at it with the mentality of a young person, and I look at it with the mentality of a middle-aged person. These differences in situation and personality can affect the appearance of the ancient pine trees you see. Although the ancient pine is just one thing, what you see and the ancient pine I see are two different things. Suppose you and I each draw a picture or write a poem about the impression we got of ancient pine trees. Although our artistic skills are equally good, your poem and painting have many important differences compared with mine. Difference. What is the reason for this? This is because perception is not completely objective, and the images of objects that everyone sees are somewhat subjective.
③Suppose you are a carpenter, I am a botanist, and another friend is a painter, and the three of them come to see this ancient pine at the same time. It can be said that the three of us "perceived" the tree at the same time, but what the three of us "perceived" were three different things. You can't escape your carpenter's mentality. All you perceive is how much a piece of wood is worth for doing something. I can't escape my botanist mentality. All I perceive is a flowering plant with needle-shaped leaves, spherical fruits, and evergreen flowers all year round. Our friend the painter doesn't care about anything but aesthetics. All he perceives is a green and vigorous old tree. The three of us had different reactions. You think about whether it is suitable for building a house or making utensils, and think about how to buy it, cut it, and transport it. I classified it into a certain type and family, noticed its differences from other pine trees, and thought about why it lived so old. Our friend did not think about it like this. He was only concentrating on admiring its green color, its winding lines like dragons and snakes, and its high-spirited and unyielding spirit.
④ From this we can see that this ancient pine is not a fixed thing, its image changes with the viewer's personality and taste. The image of ancient pine trees that everyone sees is a reflection of their own personality and taste. The image of ancient pine is half natural and half man-made. Very ordinary perceptions contain some degree of creativity; most objective things contain some subjective elements.
⑤The same is true for beauty. Only with aesthetic eyes can you see beauty. This old pine tree is beautiful to our painting friend because he looks at it with an aesthetic attitude. If you and I also want to see its beauty, you must put aside your practical attitude as a carpenter, and I must put aside the scientific attitude of a botanist, and look at it exclusively with an aesthetic attitude.