The idea of "Heaven and man are one" in ancient Chinese aesthetic thought and its positive meaning

Abstract

"A characteristic feature of the Eastern model of comprehensive thinking is a common concept and universal connection /…/ The statement about "Heaven and man are one" is the highest and most complete embodiment of the Eastern comprehensive model of thinking " [2, p.149]. The idea of "Heaven and man are one" is one of the main spirits of traditional Chinese culture. This main idea influenced ancient Chinese politics, ethics, life art, and also penetrated into ancient Chinese aesthetic thought and works of art.The idea of "Heaven and man are one" is the traditional wisdom of the ancient Chinese people.This idea was widely promoted by Chinese society in the 21st century. Comprehensive promotion of the idea of ”the unity of heaven and man" can improve the artist's understanding of the dimension and form of beauty, help break the old paradigm and promote cultural development and progress. This is embodied in artistic creativity, especially in the artistic creativity of Chinese painting, which focuses on the “artistic concept”, which allows artists to pay attention to understanding the general spirit of works of art without destroying the overall beauty because of a certain part. From this it can be seen that the idea of ”the unity of heaven and man" has strong guidance and significance in the field of aesthetic practice, such as artistic creativity. The purpose of this article is to correctly interpret the idea of “the unity of heaven and man” through the analysis of ancient Chinese literature and records in combination with philosophy, aesthetics and other fields. And thanks to the analysis of representative Chinese paintings that adhered to this idea in ancient China, it provides an example of how this idea can be applied to aesthetic practice. In conclusion, we will combine the experience of that time in order to see the positive meanings of this idea in the future.