Kant And The Modern Chinese Aesthetics Thinking

In the context of cultural modernization, this dissertation describes the modern transformation of traditional aesthetic mode, therefore illustrating the theoretical background of the paper. Then it surveys the macroscopic historical development of the study on Kantan aesthetics in China in the past hundred years, and discusses the influence of formalist aesthetics on traditional aesthetic approaches.Beginning from the relationship between Kantan aesthetics and modern Chinese aesthetics, this dissertation explains the process and significance of how Kantan aesthetics came to be adopted into Chinese philosophy, and explores into the profound influence of Kantan aesthetics on modem aesthetics. It discusses the internal relationship between Kantan aesthetics and modern Chinese aesthetics mainly from three perspectives.Firstly, it reviews the history of aesthetic disinterestedness. Combining traditional Chinese aesthetics, the paper illumines the importance of the proposition of aesthetic disinterestedness in terms of the attitude toward aesthetics and the independence in arts. Aesthetic disinterestedness not only establishes the independence of modern aesthetics, but also shows the primary nature and characteristics of modern aesthetics.Secondly, this dissertation presents the concept of freedom in aesthetics within Kantan aesthetics, and explains the proposition of "Beauty as the symbol of morality". In the meantime, it illustrates the feature of freedom in aesthetic games and aesthetic cultivation, which is characteristic of the transcendental spirit and the Utopian spirit in modern aesthetics.Thirdly, the artistic outlook on the life, or the artistic transformation of human life, closely ties the arts and human life together, embodies the aesthetic ideal of modern aesthetics, composes the final destination of modem aesthetics.In the historical background of national dilemma, this dissertation explores into the complicated relationship between modern aesthetics and religion on the one hand, and delves into the enlightening spirit of modern aesthetics on the other. In the final part, the paper meditates on the academic history of modem aesthetics, and points out the potentiality of aesthetics in the future.