The Study Of Cheng Brothers' Neo-Confucian Aesthetic Thought

Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi were famous neo-Confucianismes in Song and Ming Dynasty. They established a basis of neo-Confucian theory in Song and later periods. Cheng brothers'neo-Confucian thought was a tight ideological system established a basis of principle, which merged with theories of Buddhism and Taoism. The lateral theories of Zhu xi and Lu-Wang also developed from this basis. Cheng brothers'principle is the noumenon of world and morality, and the principle is the noumenon of beauty. Cheng brothers'neo-Confucian thought is a moral thought, which lays particularly stress on personality improving to realize ideal personality and reach an ideal life realm. Cheng brothers'principle is the starting point and end point of his Art Philosophy. The idea which Principle is Fundamental and Art is the last Important was the essential points of their Art Philosophy, which determined Art's role, effect and style, and formed Art Appreciation theory. This study selects five basic areas, and concentrates on their profound theory to analyze and expatiate. The whole thesis includes five chapters.Chapter one starts from the highest noumenon of Cheng Brothers'theory– Principle, probed into Cheng Brother'thoughts on the noumenon of beauty. The study shows that, principle is the highest noumenon of the universe, and the codes of natural things and human relations, which makes the principle acts as the noumenon and basis of natural beauty. The study unveils the relation of Qi and Tao which acts as relation of nonmenon and phenomenon, certainly works as the noumenon and phenomenon of natural beauty. The universes, like gledes, fishes, flowers, grasses, clouds, winds, willows, are all the popular finding of principles of noumenon. Human being can naturally experience the freedom and joviality of harmonization between human being and nature.Chapter two discusses Cheng Brothers'profounding opinions on appreciator, which starting from Cheng Brothers'attitudes to nature. The study shows, Cheng Brothers'opinions on appreciator reflects the character of sentiment. Cheng Brothers'opinions on Qi and Tao were the basis of their attitudes to nature, but both had different opinions on the relation of nature. Cheng Hao felt the nature was the combination of Principle and Qi, and nature worked as principle for human being with the difference of virtuous and not virtuous. For human being, the nature had no not virtuous, but over and less than. The over and less than of nature appeared as feeling. Nature and feeling can not be separated. Feeling came out naturally from nature. People should first feel and understand be a part of the universe, take the open mind to face the universe through the attitude of heavenly-mindedness and respect, and follow the popularity of the universe, do not forget to help, then people can taste the popularity of noumneon of Tao. The mood of do not forget to help is a kind of mood to appreciate the beauty. People meets this requirement can achieve the personality of appreciation, and follow the principle of nature, then achieve the joviality of people's life and follow the principle of virtuous. Cheng Hao's opinions on appreciator showed his emphasis on insight. Cheng Yi advocated the noumenon of nature were all virtuous from the relation between nature and feeling, and nature appeared as feeling, feeling came from the nature, the feeling which came from the nature shew the virtuous and badness because of the participation of Qi. People only clear the Qi, can returns back to nature from the feeling, and achieve the purpose of feeling from nature. The way to achieve harmonization between nature and feeling through the clearance of Qi needs to get help from the understanding of principle of nature, improve the knowledge and conversation, take out ignorance and greedy, take the leisurely attitude, keep calm an ease. The study further discloses the purpose of Cheng Yi's opinions on the understanding of principle of nature is to foster people's emotional attitude and self-awareness on the noumenon of principle, the routes of natural emotional cultivation from observation of universal natures to feel the noumenon, and the only way to form personality of appreciation comes from the personal attitude of heavenly-mindedness and respect. Cheng Yi's opinions on the noumenon of beauty appreciation reflects the characters of gradually understanding to insight. No mater Cheng Hao's opinions on do not forget to help, and Cheng Yi's opinions on the personal attitude of heavenly-mindedness and respect, are all personal mood on popularity of noumenon, and the main requirements to achieve appreciator personality.Chapter three talks about Cheng Brothers'reaction theory from the point view of aesthetic process. The study shows that, Cheng Brothers'reaction theory puts the reaction as the base section of life production, concludes the basis of universe to reaction from the angle of time and space, points out the universalism of reaction. The theory discussed the relation of feeling and nature from the angle of people's nature, emphasized pepople's internal feeling takes the important and leading role in the reaction process. Cheng Brothers'reaction theory put the role of people's feeling to the reaction to the highest level, and even concluded that only the object with noumenon's sentiment can work as the object of beauty appreciation, with apparently internal self-sufficiency. The theory concluded the immediate reaction, which reflects the immediate intuitive of the sentiment, with joviality as outside expression. People takes the attitude of heavenly-mindedness and respect, self-thinking, let the soul come into vanity and calm status, achieve the mood of object is object and merge with the object through the self-sufficiency of nature. Cheng Brothers'theory put the role of reaction on the nature to feeling to the highest level, which comes from the Buddhism's View Space on people's nature. Cheng Brothers'theory brought the Song and lateral people's attention to people's feeling and sentiment, and produced profound effect on culture expression and theory creation of Song and later dynasties.Chapter four discusses Cheng Brothers'opinions on personality beauty. The study shows that, Saints Manner is the spiritual appearance in behavior, seeing and hearing, speech, which results from the personal cultivation meets the natural goodness and personal joviality. The essential of Saints Manner and Kong Yan Le Chu reflects the status of people's self-satisfication and joviality, and Kong Yan Le Chu emphasized on the status of mood status of joviality, behaved as moral appreciation status, but Saints Manner emphasized the status's outside spiritual appearance, reflects the perfect combination of morality mood and beauty appreciation. People can learn from Yan Zi to achieve the personality beauty of Saints Manner. The Saints Manner achieves the communication between the life and universe from the endless universal propagation, become the status of people merged with natural principle, body follow the sky and earth, and this status shows as elegance without compelling. This elegance is Cheng Brothers'principle on beauty appreciation, and affect the turnaround of beauty appreciation in Song dynasty.Chapter five expatiates Cheng Brothers'opinions on the noumenon of Art. The study shows that, Chen Brothers'cultural philosophy built on the basis of Neo-Confucian, and the viewpoints of noumenon and phenomenon formed their cultural noumenon theory on Neo-Confucian. Although Cheng Brothers had the opinions of'composition damaged the Tao'and'excessive attention to play thing saps the will', they still agreed that art works as the noumenon of Tao. People can feel the Tao from the art. Art working as the noumenon of Tao, can not only takes the practical effect to guide the society and economy development, but also has the independent beauty appreciation value. At the same time, Cheng Brother figured that, not only the role and value of art decided by Tao, the conservative character of art also determined by Tao. The simplicity of Tao determined the simplicity and conservative characters of art. Cheng Brothers'noumenon theory affirmed the role and effect of art in Tao. Their appreciation theory can be started from art, and to feel the Tao from art. Cheng Brothers's appreciation theory includes two levels, the first level is, to acquire the appearance meaning from the art and general understanding; the second level is, to experience the Saints Manner through the relish and elaboration, then improve the personality, and enter into the status of harmonization between people and the environment. Cheng Brothers'neo-confucian aesthetic theory pushed the traditions of confucian's theory to the highest level, and affected the lateral aesthetic theorist and Confucian theorist'new elaboration, amending and further expression for the traditions. Cheng Brothers'theory made the China traditional aesthetic theory from the outside status of'Lively Spirit'before Song Dynasty turn to the expression of people's subjective sentiment in one side, and also triggered the new ideas of personality publicity from Ming and later dynasties. Cheng Brothers'theory put less attention to the understanding of objective world, which prevented the people's step to exploit the outside world; and its aesthetic theory restricted the personality freedom and personal freedom, which went against the free and comprehensive development of personality. Cheng Brothers'aesthetic theory pursued the harmonization of people and the nature, which inspired us to take the appreciation attitude to the nature, and achieve the harmonized development between people and nature. Cheng Brothers'attitudes on Saints Manner can also bring the spiritual belief for those people live in the current marketing economy, to build the harmonized, orderly competition environment. Cheng Brothers'neo-Confucian aesthetic theory provides the new aspects for the toughing aesthetic theory in China history, which helps to establish classical China aesthetic system. This study analyzes and discusses Cheng Brothers'aesthetic theory through the writer's own understanding. With discussing deeply and perfectly, Cheng Brother's neo-Confucian aesthetic theory will become lustrous and have an profound role and value in China classical aesthetic theory.