On The Bohemianism In The Vision Of The Aesthetic Culture Of The West

Being an interesting and urgent theoretical proposition, "Bohemia" is synonymous of the image and the eccentric lifestyle of some talented writers and artists since the 19^th century, who are dissatisfied with the reality, fond of loitering, and full of innovation. It is also a new way of life and belief which finds a gradual growth in the modern Western culture.As a special art and culture phenomenon in modern Western history, the Bohemian movment has seen such stages as first-generation Bohemia; second-generation Bohemia; avant-garde Bohemia; Beat generation, and the anticultural movement in the 1960s. Bohemia involves some literary thoughts, such as Romanticism, Symbolism, Aestheticism, Dadaism and Surrealism, Beat generation, Greenwich Village Vanguard drama, etc. It originated from the Romanticism movement in the early 19^th century, and ended as the avant-garde art in the mid-20^th century. Playing the important role of a messenger and a vehicle in the 100-year course of the gradual transformation from the concept of art for art's sake of the former into the vanguard aethetics of the latter, it provides a pespective from which we can see how the self-disciplined aethetics which stresses art and perception of beauty changed into the post-modernism aethetics which emphasizes ablating the border between art and life. This is one of core categories in the art and culture world of the modern west.As a product of the chaotic and complicated modernity in the transformation period of the western society, Bohemian is an art movement and a lifestyle revolution. It was associated, on the one hand, with the representative of the elegant culture - artists and intellectuals, and was involved, on the other hand, with the daily life as a way of life in general. The spiritual meaning of Bohemianism is the pursuit of art of life embodying aesthetics not only in arts but also in living practice. From the batch of long-haired young men who first experienced this in 1830 to super-realists in the 20th century, La Boheme had been trying to integrate the two experiences, namely, the modernism spirit of art-transcending and the life experience of breaking the shakles of social institution; and trying to seek and represent truth in arts and in life. In this sense, Bohemia, which inherited the tradition of Aesthetic Salvation of the 18^th century, and surpasses Schiller's thoughts on aesthetic education, highlighted a basic and precious principle of descending culture: help the seeds of life germinate in the modern world of aesthetic culture.It should be said that the exploration of routes of aesthetic salvation in "art of living" is a typical feature of Bohemian. It is contrary and supplementary to the aesthetic line of "art for art's sake", and both lines came into being in the world of the modern European artists and literati. We can see from the history of nearly two centuries that "art of life", as a useful tool for self-development, is based on a view: every one should be able to live a life of his/her own, which is absolutely the core of Bohemianism. The Bohemian movement of art of living has become a valuable experience of pursuing ideal culture, and a special historical lanscape made by modern people who desire to possess, in the true sense, a free, vivacious and energetic aesthetic living.