THE APPLICATION OF ZHUANGZI’S “NATURE AND INACTION” AESTHETIC THOUGHT IN CONTEMPORARY ART DESIGN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Background: At present, Zhuangzi’s aesthetic thoughts are applied in different fields and are widely used. There are also endless studies on Zhuangzi’s “nature and inaction” aesthetic thought in the world. Zhuangzi’s “nature and inaction” aesthetic thought has important guiding significance for relieving contemporary people’s psychological pressure and promoting people’s healthy mental development. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct more in-depth research on Zhuangzi’s “nature and inaction” aesthetic thought. Objective: This study aims to conduct a comprehensive review and analysis of existing literature related to the study of the application of Zhuangzi’s “nature and inaction” aesthetic thought in art design, to provide new research directions for future relevant researchers. Participants and setting: Screen and organize relevant literature collected in CNKI and Scopus databases during the 10 years from 2013 to 2023. Methods: The literature review adopted a “systematic review” to systematically organize the literature in the past 10 years. Results: This review combed through the research literature and found that most of the research focused on the application of Zhuangzi’s “nature and inaction” aesthetic thought in the fields of product design, graphic design and architectural design, and there was a lack of research on the aesthetic significance generated by these applications. Conclusions: An in-depth understanding of how Zhuangzi’s aesthetic thoughts are applied in different fields of art design and the resulting aesthetic significance can provide designers with new ways of thinking, while also providing valuable reference materials for future researchers and laying a theoretical foundation.