Research On Natural Aesthetics In Han Fu

The appreciation of natural beauty started very early in China. In "The Book of Songs", the amazement of nature was highly valued, which was considered to express the aesthetic way of revealing people’s emotion through nature. The Confucianists, who were represented by Confucius and Mencius, related natural beauty to moral value, and came up with the standard of appreciation of natural beauty that the kind people love mountains while the wise one love water. The Taoists, who were represented by Lao-zi and Chuang-Tzu, put forward the idea of natural appreciation that the natural essence was the beauty of nature. The highest standard of natural beauty was "being natural". During the Wei and Jing Dynasty, the appreciation of natural beauty came to a peak, and men of letters indulged nature, which was a popular activity. Nature was attractive because of its own beauty and the philosophy of enlightenment. Originated from ideas of philosophers and scholars before Qin Dynasty, this ideology grows up in Han Dynasty and fully develops in Wei-Jin into a sino-exclusive theoretical system. It may be suggested that the aesthetic ideology in Han Dynasty established the foundation of Chinese aesthetic ideology and created a set of aesthetic ideas and principles with Chinese characteristics.This paper, titled as "The Research on Natural Aesthetics of Hanfu", intends to detect ideas and theories in Han Dynasty which have an influential impact on Chinese aesthetic ideology so as to provide insights into the origin of Chinese ideology and its historical development as well. Based on complete and detailed analysis of literature of Hanfu, this study examines and illustrates aesthetic ideology of Han Dynasty embodied in Hanfu by virtue of multi-angled research on aesthetic ideology and philosophy, aesthetic ideology and literature as well as aesthetic consciousness. The paper consists of six chapters:Chapter One examines the causes for the uniqueness of aesthetic ideology in Han Dynasty by tracing the cosmic birth and evolution in Han Dynasty and the relationship between man and nature, detecting the orientation of the ideological mainstream in Han Dynasty so as to generalize the influence of Han cosmology on aesthetic consciousness in Han Dynasty.Chapter Two focuses on what aesthetic objects are in Hanfu, closely examining the natural essence of aesthetic objects in the process of natural aesthetic experience by categorizing the natural aesthetic objects and analyzing the aesthetic connotation. The natural aesthetic objects can be classified into astronomy and meteorology, geographical environment, botany and animals, which are to be examined and analyzed in order to summarize multilayer cultural connotation in aesthetic appreciation in Hanfu, including the beauty of form, the meaning of life, the connection between nature and human as well as the religious implication.Chapter Three provides a detailed analysis of how the aesthetic objects observed in Hanfu, which means the beauty of form of the aesthetic objects. It includes the sensual feelings in natural experience by looking at different senses like seeing, smelling, hearing and touching and the aesthetic conception. The study show that the appreciation of natural beauty in Hanfu is an integrated experience, then draws the conclusion that Han Dynasty witnessed an embarkation on the new stage of enjoy in the nature after throwing off the yoke of pre-Qin outlook.Chapter Four examines the philosophic connotation and aesthetic awareness expressed in Hanfu on the basis of cosmology of Han, generalizing the themes and principles of natural esthetics in Han Dynasty from the notion that nature is created by "Nature" and "Tao" and that life is generated from Yin-Yang, five elements and four seasons. It is summarized that the philosophical culture of aesthetic appreciation is the focus on life, standard of being natural and following the nature.Chapter Five concludes from the research on the diversified relationship between man and nature that the relationship is affected by many factors such as cosmic philosophy, religious beliefs and generous views of Han people toward nature. Different views on nature is reflected in the aesthetics nature relationship, such as respecting the nature, adjusting to the nature, fear of nature and enjoy the life in nature.Chapter Six summarizes the aesthetic ideology and theories in Han Dynasty. It suggests that the aesthetic ideology of Han Dynasty features a belief that all creatures in the nature are shaped by Yin-Yang and Five elements which are the root of life and the opinion of being physical identification and views the integrity of man and nature as the fundamental moral value of the metaphysical humanism, which identifies the self of the universe, nature and life. In terms of the natural law in which the integrity of man and nature is created with the shelter of the universal self, the aesthetic ideology of Han Dynasty reveres the self as a soul of heaven which literally corresponds to the natural law, the morality and the integrity of the two, namely, the natural aesthetics of itself.Based on Chaper One, the paper researches on the thoughts of natural aesthetics of Hanfu. Chapter Two and Chpater Three are the important argumantive part, which analyze the natural aesthetics of Hanfu in detail. Chaper Four, Five and Six deeply explore the essence and chacteristics of natural aesthetics of Hanfu. From the above study, the unique chacteristics of natural aesthetics of Hanfu has been realized and it provides a new and reasonable angle to grasp the aesthetic counciousness of Han Dynasty.