Comments On Benjamin's Aesthetics Of Modernity

Content: Benjamin has a high prestige whether in China or in western countries. During the later 1980's, Chinese scholar Xudong Zhang has introduced Benjamin to Chinese, and from then on, many scholars have studied Benjamin's aesthetics ideology in detail and in depth from various aspects, but compare to the research works of scholars in west countries, our works are not satisfying by all appearances. Simultaneous, this situation also illuminates that it's worth to research Benjamin's aesthetics ideology for there're still large unexplored value left. For the reason of Benjamin's greatness and profundity, his ideology involved language, art, history, philosophy and mythos. So it's impossible to reach every aspect of Benjamin's thoughts in one paper. So, after repetitious reading of his works, this paper made forerunner's research works groundwork, we found that it is the pursue of modernity that run though all Benjamin's worksWhether Benjamin's work focused on the evolvement of art in all ages or developed capital metropolis, they all revealed a constant pursuing to modernity, with no exceptions. Nowadays, large number of scholars concentrate their research work on the mass culture and other aspects, such as art and technology, art production theory, when they research Benjamin's ideology. By chance, though someone touched upon the important subject of modernity, he also localized his research around Benjamin's thought of art modernity, and didn't expand Benjamin' s thought of modernity. It leads to a suspicion of no systemic research on Benjamin's thought of modernity. Therefore, based on the forerunner's research work, this paper will make more detailed expatiation on Benjamin's thought of modernity from the weak point of forerunner' s research. This paper will not talk in generalities or just give an outline of Benjamin's thought of modernity, but adopted so called category research method, that is to say, this paper will make a perspective draw of Benjamin's thought of modernity by picking out and investigating several couple of categories from Benjamin's ideology. The following are the three opposite categories: instrumental language and common language, symbolism and parable, aura and shock. This paper consists of five parts as below:1. Introduction to Benjamin and researching status of his works. Then, though different scholar's definition of Benjamin's identity, this paper will make us an access to Benjamin's particular identity. We prefer taking him as a literator, a intellect, a man with poetic thought.2. Through carding the thoughts of modernity, this part will survey Benjamin's ideology from the viewpoint of modernity, and make a preparation for the following research of his thoughts on art aesthetics.3. This part is the first chapter of paper. It' 11 apply Benjamin's particular language theory to unearth the modernity behind his works. In this chapter, author will highlight the couple of opposite categories: instrumental language and common language, and then, indicates that it's degradation4. This part is the second chapter of paper. It's mainly devoted on Benjamin's dissertation about art to post more of his thoughts of modernity. In this chapter, author will focus on this couple of opposite categories: symbolism and parable, and make a conclusion that parable is the leading form of modern art by the way of comparing the traditional art form symbolism and the modern art form parable.5. This part is the third chapter of paper. It's mainly depends on Benjamin's theory of culture to expatiate his thoughts of modernity more clearly. In this chapter, author will pick out this couple of opposite categories: aura and shock, and then make a discuss on the transformation from traditional culture which characterized by lingering charm to modern culture which characterized by shock, and at last, reflects Benjamin's basic ideas about modernity, that is, the process of modernization of culture is the disappearing of aura and appearing of shock.