Between Chinese and Western Aesthetics

Abstract

In view of its method and content, the defining characteristic of Chinese aesthetics is the integration and assimilation of the historical into the modern as a result of East-West cultural transformation. Moreover, it is bestowed with a crucial role of political enlightenment against the background of sociocultural change in China then. Historically, there have emerged five main paradigms regarding modern Chinese aesthetics in its development from infancy to maturity over a span of a hundred years. Each of the paradigms has its own focus of interest and exerts influence upon the others. The five paradigms include the fragmentary elaboration based on translation and introduction, systematic disciplinary construction through relevant transplantation, theoretical incorporation via creative reformation due to the East-West interaction, the model of interdisciplinary and comprehensive art education with focus on the efficiency of applied sciences, and cross-cultural considerations by means of inquiry into distinct cultural origins.