Life as Art: John Dewey’s Visit to China (1919–1921) and Its Relevance to China’s Art Education

Abstract

Abstract Based on historical reviews, John Dewey’s visit to China from 1919 to 1921 had little impact on China’s art education. However, a careful examination of the works of art scholars and educators in the 1920s and 1930s reveals a more complex picture of Dewey’s influence. In this study, I analyze the works of the influential art educators and scholars Jing Hengyi (经亨颐, 1877–1938), Lyu Cheng(吕瀓, 1896–1989), Bingxian (冰弦), and Liang Shuming (梁漱溟, 1893–1988). The results show that these scholars overcame the dualism of art and science, which was a prominent discourse in the New Culture Movement. They considered life growth as the goal of art education through the cultivation of a creative, inclusive personality that released the potential life energy. These scholars developed their ideas regarding aesthetics and art education based on their interpretation of some aspects of Dewey’s philosophy of education and came up with a Chinese version of Dewey’s theory of aesthetics even before the publication of his work Art as Experience in 1934. Their interpretation is consistent with Dewey’s ideas of aesthetic experience, and art education as the means of developing the potential of the individual. The goal of art education that these Chinese scholars proposed 100 hundred years ago remains valid today.