On Fang Dongmei’s Ideology In Wisdom Aesthetics

Fang Dongmei is one of the important philosophers and aestheticians among the contemporary new Confucians in the 20 th century, greatly praised as the poetic philosopher. Most contemporary great new Confucians have introspected “wisdom” in the real cultural context of the 20 th century, striving for life ideal through seeking for the wisdom by intuition. In the early time, he advocated Western Learning.In the mid-term, he turned to the traditional Chinese learning. For the purpose of the revival of national culture, he transformed the traditional philosophy and aesthetics to the modern. Taking it as the foothold,he integrated Western learning with Indian learning. His philosophy and aesthetics has a broad vision, and sophisticated innovation. The researches on Fang Dongmei’s philosphy and aesthetics focus on philosophy and aethetics of life, but not accurate.First of all, Chinese philosophy and aesthetics are not suitable to be called philosophy and aethetics of life. Zhouyixici said physics is called Qi and metaphysics is called Dao.It is based on life,and takes it as its origin. It sublimates from physics to metaphysics.If it gets to metaphysics, it will possess the rational beauty. The integration of Dao and Qi doesn’t repel the reason. Next, Fang Dongmei’s thoughts of philosophy and aesthetics can’t be summarized only by life,because Fang Dongmei advocated the introdution of the wisdom of philosophy,but didn’t refuse rational thoughts. Besides, he advocated the introduction of Buddhist wisdom, but didn’t refuse the speculative notion. Therefore, the research on Fang Dongmei’s philosophy and aesthetics is to explore the core category.In this synchronic context, Fang Dongmei tried to integrate effectively the old Greek wisdom, modern European wisdom and Indian wisdom on the base of Chinese wisdom, docking and infuse the western wisdom Aesthetics with eastern. His exposition of “wisdom” in Three Wisdoms in Philosophy is full of speculative thinking, resulting from his comprehensive thinking on the western cognitively thinking about the reason, emotion, knowledge and aspiration, the Indian cognition about metaphysical idealism and the Chinese thinking modes based on intuitive experience. It is a organic combination of his speculation on the three great cognitively thinking methods. In his later work Lectures on Life philosophy Fang understood the concept “wisdom” more thoroughly, giving special emphasis on meditating and exploring the Indian wisdom in addition to the Greek and modern European wisdom. Metaphysical elements in Lectures on Life philosophy are typical of Chinese characteristics and of great significance to the worldwide aesthetics, morality and religions. Based on Fang’s views on wisdom of great speculative nature, the article uses the combination of Fang’s philosophical wisdom and aesthetical one as the entry point to bring together the three great theoretic cultural resources respectively of the Chine, the Indian and the Western, studying their embodiment in the autistics, philosophy and religions, the three forms of life spirits. The final aim is to construct the frame of the wisdom system so as to form the great Wisdom Aesthetics. Fang’s great Wisdom Aesthetics is to bridge the worldly sensitive aesthetics and the metaphysical one. Its connotative meaning is as follows:Artistic wisdom aesthetics in this article focuses on the Fang tragic artistic theory and the poetic aesthetics.Tragic arts are the main arts form of Greek and modern Europe.Fang has illustrated in detail the western tragic meaning,tragic spirit,especially the science,philosophy and artistic essence behind modern European tragedy arts.Through comparing with the tragedy art theory theories of Wang Guowei and Benjamin,the writer will explore the Fang Dongmei’s theoretical features of tragic arts.Fang’s poem in坚白精舍Poetry Anthology reflect Chinese Classic Arts’mechanism and charm.Through discussing the Fang’s poetic arts,the study tries to expose both the philosophical miracle and the poetic inspiration as if to penetrate into the arts and life in the poetry.The theory on philosophical aesthetics results from Fang Dongmei’s speculation on the three philosophical aesthetics of the west, the Indian and the Chinese. Greek wisdom aesthetics is based truth-seeking theory evolved from the materialism formed by the spirits of Dionysus, Apolo and Olympia. Modern European wisdom aesthetics is based on the capability-respected formed by the wisdom ability combined by the spirits of the renaissance, Baroque and Rococo. The Indian wisdom aesthetics is one of the salvation evolved from virtue wisdom formed by combining the spirits of The Upanishads, Buddhism and The Buddha Song, embodied in the aesthetical idea of conformation of God and human and the reward theory of karma good or evil. The Chinese wisdom aesthetics is one of the wonder developed from the equality wisdom based on the tri-division of harmony, morality and wisdom philosophy. Fang Dongmei advocates adopting worldwide measure for other or self salvation among the three great philosophies of the western, the Indian and the Chinese so as to make them evolve into an ideal type of human life and culture.Religious wisdom aesthetics is mainly of the Buddhism and reflects Fang’s exploration on the great poetic system in the Chinese classic Hua-yen Buddhism from the China-west perspective. Fang believes that only mastering the characters’ wisdom can one understand its round harmonious aesthetical state. Hua-yen Buddhism should be understood as a broad harmonious spiritual state made by the poetic symbolic and metaphoric language. This is Fang’s creative illustration of the Meta language in Hua-yen Buddhism.Arts wisdom aesthetics, philosophical wisdom aesthetics and religious wisdom aesthetics not only have their respective features but also are intercommunicated. Fang believes that “religion, philosophy and poetry are interrelated in nature; all the three are of nobility which can be let off only through the wonder created in life”. The intercommunication of arts wisdom aesthetics, philosophical wisdom aesthetics and religious wisdom aesthetics was finally realized in the work Ideal Cultural Blueprint of Human and Nature, portrayed by Fang’s profound thought in his late life.Fang Dongmei’s great wisdom aesthetics aims to provide a cultural scheme for all the peoples in the world, that is, to get rid of the national cultural centralism, realize the mutual and self help and the final coexistence of the world excellent cultures. His great wisdom aesthetics has great methodological meaning to today’s Chinese and worldwide scholars in their studies to integrate the world-level aesthetics. It is of greater modern significance to the study of how to master the worldwide wisdom aesthetics based on Chinese ones.