Li And Yue Cultivation Aesthetic Education Thought Of Book Of Rites And Construction Of Confucian Aesthetic Personality

As a Confucian compilation, Book of Rites is an important institutions and system works which is plentiful and lively. It is important to us to understand the society and study the political, philosophical and ethical thought in Pre-Qin Period. From the angle of the aesthetic personality, this paper tries to study and analyze Book of Rites. The full text consists of five parts, the main contents as follows:The first part puts emphasis on the introduction of the production of Book of Rites. This part is discussed from three aspects:the contents and classifications of Book of Rites, culture soil and thought background that Book of Rites is produced. Around three aspects, we conclude that Book of Rites is a Confucian compilation which is produced from Pre-Qin Period to Liang Han Period and isn't composed by one person. Book of Rites is produced in the culture soil which is the origination and development of Li and Yue civilization and on the thought background which is the maturity and falling into a pattern of the theory of "Tian Ren He Yi". In general, there are three phases of the evolution of Li and Yue civilization which are "creation of Li and Yue","disintegration of Li and Yue" and "propriety of Confucianism". It is decided by the ancient culture visual field that we should put the theme on the thought background which is the theory of "San Cai" and the doctrine of "Yin Yang and Wu Xing".The second part puts emphasis on the basic feature of Confucian aesthetic personality which is "the unity of Mei and Shan". Ethics is the core of Confucianism system, which is embodied in the idea of "the unity of Mei and Shan" in aesthetics thought."Gentleman" is the ideal Confucian personality which is not only "Shan" but also "Mei"."Gentleman" is good by moral standards and elegant in his manners. On one hand, to the internal world "Gentleman" is a kindhearted person; on the other hand, to all external appearance "Gentleman" is a courteous person. In short,"Gentleman" is an ideal Confucian personality that is gentle and soft. It demands one person to self-cultivation in various environments in order to become a "Gentleman". There are many methods which are good at training person. Among them the most important one is "Shen Du". Generally,"Shen Du" refers to that one person should be strict with his speech and action when he is alone. In fact,"Shen Du" is not only "Shen Du", and furthermore, it's "Xin Du". We can understand it from two sides:in external, it's a kind of moral action; in internal, it's a kind of spirit awakening. In a word,"Shen Du" is an especially important way to one person in daily life.The third part puts emphasis on the way of the formation of Confucian aesthetic personality which is aesthetic education. According to the living space, we divided the aesthetic education way into three manners:aesthetic education in the family, aesthetic education in the school and aesthetic education in the society. In fact, once one person is born in this world, he begins to receive family aesthetic education. When he grows up, he need to hold "Guan Li" ceremony which marks he is an adult. The whole family pays attention to the "Guan Li" ceremony which is embodied in the complex procedure. Later one person need to hold "Hun Li" ceremony which is the basis of "Li". The whole procedure consists of six parts in which the man takes priority over the woman."Sang Li" and "Ji Li" are thought highly in Confucianism, so it's the longest ceremony. When a boy is at the age of ten, he needs to go to school to receive education whose main contents are "Yue cultivation education","Li cultivation education" and "Shi cultivation education". As a result of the whole education, one person should be a full-development person. In the society one person should know how to take different roles in various environments. In other words, he needs to hold "Xiang-Li","She Li","Yan Li" and "Pin Li". On one hand, we show the procession of the ceremony; on the other hand, we discover the meaning of "Li and Yue" cultivation education thought.The fourth part puts emphasis on the ideal state of Confucian aesthetic personality which is "Zhong He Zhi Mei". The thought of "Zhong He" is originated from the consciousness of "Shang Zhong" and the idea of "Shang He". The theory of "Zhong Yong" is formed in Confucius's mind on the basis of the cultural spirit of "Shang Zhong Zhi He". The concept of "Zhong" is a corial concept in Confucian thought, whose essential condition is "Cheng" which is looked upon as the bridge that can join the heaven and the person. In order to achieve the ideal state, many action standards are suggested in Confucianism. We can conclude two main methods:"Zhi Liang Yong Zhong" and "Shi Zhong".The fifth part puts emphasis on the realitic goal which is the ideal society. According to Confucian viewpoint in Pre-Qin Period, the ideal society is an orderly society. The way realizing it is relying on "Nei Sheng Wai Wang". In fact, the ideal society is "Da Tong Xiao Kang"."Da Tong" society isn't unreal society which only exists in people's mind. On the contrary, it is ancient society pattern in which people have peaceful lives. Although the living conditions are poor, the whole society is safe and the people are friendly. With the development of the history,"Xiao Kang" society is come into being. In general,"Xiao Kang" society is not regarded as good as "Da Tong" society. In fact,"Xiao Kang" society is as important as "Da Tong" society. Because the thought of Li and Yue is a good tool for people to establish the order in "Xiao Kang" society, so it is important to realize the Confucian goal in Pre-Qin Period.