Zhonghe:Study On Zhu Xi’s Aesthetic And Poetic Category

The Zhonghe category is an important category in classical aesthetics and ancient literary theory.As a master of neo-confucianism of song dynasty,Zhu Xi inherited the thought system of ErCheng(Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi)and rebuilt the Confucian philosophy.He deleloped the connotation of the Zhonghe category in philosophical aesthetics and the poetic theory.Zhonghe is regarded as ontology of beauty by Zhu Xi which has apriority,transcendence and metaphysics.These theories laid the macroscopic theoretical basis of Zhu Xi’s Zhonghe category system.Zhu Xi regarded Zhonghe as the ontology of the Tao.Based on nature ontology of neo-confucianism,he developed the philosophy implication of Zhonghe in metaphysics.In his view,Zhonghe is not only transcendence and prior existence but also ontology of beauty.Meanwhile,Zhu Xi developed the universality of Zhonghe as a category of philosophy and aesthetics.He took heaven-endowed nature as the link between Tao and human beings to establish the connection of them.Zhonghe tend to the return of the heaven-endowed nature and the abandon of human emotion.‘The beautry of virtues’ presented by Zhu Xi reveals confucianist’s aesthetics of ‘combination of function and beauty’.The human is not only the moral subject but also the aesthetic subject.Zhonghe get extensive significance in physics aesthetic connotation range from the universe to people themselves and literature and art.Zhonghe is the beauty of transcendence born with Tao,evolution of nature and literature and art which reflect subject’s personality ideal and aesthetic values.It is the the unity of the objective aesthetic and subjective aesthetic.Zhu Xi’s Zhonghe category is based on philosophy of temperament theory and ethics.He inherited and developed the Confucius’ s tender and gentle theory.Zhu Xi believed that Zhonghe was specific artistic style of Feng(Ballads),Ya(Festival Odes)and Song(Sacrificial Songs)which reflects the aesthetic pursuit of the creative subject.He put the political sense ke-jin-ji-si(restrain one’s desire)into the practice of poetry writing and criticism and put forward the writer’s individual cultivation theory.Zhonghe has became the principle and standard of poetic: meaning,solemn,peaceful and soft-graceful.As a result,it is not only specific artistic style but slso general aesthetic principle.Thanks to Zhu Xi’s development of Zhonghe in philosophy,compared to previous theory,his Zhonghe category greatly improved with comprehensive connotation.Zhu Xi’s Zhonghe category combined Confucian theory,Buddhism ideas and Taoism theory.As the important principle and standard of classical aesthetics,it is philosophical and inclusive which had a profound influence on the poetic theory and practice.