| "Contemplation" which came from Chinese ancient philosophy and had multiple meanings is of most significance in the process of aesthetic activities as a crucial aesthetic category. "Contemplation" means aesthetic contemplation in the point of view of aesthetic application, and aesthetic contemplation has important theoretical and practical significance in Chinese aesthetics and people’s daily life. By examining the implication of the word "contemplation" itself, we can know that "contemplation", in the etymological sense, refers to insight which is different from the general word of "view" and "see". Although it has the same visual action as "view" and "see", it has the meaning of insight into the nature. "Contemplation" is equal to "illumination" in the meaning of observing and looking into the essence of the thing, so the word "contemplation" together with "illumination" could be used as a verb which is associated with vision, and it is also beyond common sensory vision. From the aesthetics point of view, contemplation could cover the whole process of aesthetic activity, including premise, process and results.Among the pre Qin classic books, there were two books that mention the category "contemplation".One is "the book of changes", and the other is "Zuo Zhuan". "book of changes" put forward the "contemplation" Gua and "Zuo Zhuan" put forward the statement of "Jizha who was contemplating music". Since then, Confucianism had made the proposition of "Xing, contemplation, group and blaming", Taoism had proposed the statement of contemplating from the point of view of "Tao", and Shao Yong had put forward the topic of contemplating the thing from the point of view of the thing itself. And we also could see that "contemplation" is a common concept in Buddhist books. For example, "meditation" is an important method of Buddhist practice, Tiantai proposed contemplation with our hearts, and Zen put forward the important view of Zen meditation. In contrast, the western aesthetic contemplation theory is mainly based on the theory of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Blow, Bosanquet and Munsterburg, etc. Aesthetic contemplation has been a universal category for western aesthetics at that time. In contrast with the western aesthetic contemplation we could draw the conclusion that Chinese aesthetic contemplation which is based on the integration of the subject and the object is attached with the inside image and the metaphysical state of human beings.Our aesthetic contemplation activities are usually carried out in the boundless universe, and Chinese traditional aesthetic activities are always based on real time and space. People always perceive the infinite time and space with their hearts, so that people could feel free between imagination and reality. As a matter of fact, aesthetic contemplation aims to look into the life, and our artists contemplate the universe with their emotions and interests, creating the metrical and rhythmic things. Life experience and feeling is the highest realm and final destination of aesthetic contemplation. Aesthetic subject has been integrated into the infinite space and time which has been the ideological foundation of aesthetic contemplation.Through the study of the philosophy history of contemplation, we can draw a conclusion that owing to the different background, these philosophy theories are different in some way, but whether it is the Confucian contemplation, or the Taoist contemplation, or Buddhist contemplation, they all belong to a kind of recognition method of pursing the truth but not indulging in the religious faith. "Contemplation" has the significance of ontology, methodology and survivalism. Ontological meaning refers to that contemplation could view the origin of the object. Methodological significance means that contemplation could understand the subject, and contemplation has a wide view of epistemology. Survivalism means that Chinese classical aesthetic contemplation could look into the essence of life and it aims to the spiritual freedom and human being’s idealistic survival state.From the point of view of aesthetic mode, "Contemplation" could be divided into two categories, that is, static contemplation and dynamic contemplation. Static contemplation mainly refers to the state of peace of mind. Dynamic contemplation encompassing looking around means that when an individual enjoys the sight of a scenic spot they do not look at it just only from one single angle. On the contrary, they would look at the sight from various angles including from top to bottom, from side to side and from back to front. Moreover, the individual should psychologically experience infinite time and space. Since aesthetic contemplation can grasp the infinite time and space, it is not just linked with visual sensory, and it must be linked with the heart which has the ability of perception. Since it is associated with heart, the aesthetic realm of contemplation would aim to the value of life. With the help of the heart, the psychological mechanism of aesthetics contemplation has established. That is to say, when the subject who is in quiet state contemplates the aesthetic object which has the potential and rich beauty, the aesthetic contemplation will occur.From the aesthetic perspective, aesthetic contemplation has the characteristic of intentionality, perception, experience and emotion. Aesthetic intention means that aesthetic subject must be pointing to the object which has the aesthetic form. Perception emphasizes on the function of the heart, and it is because of the perception of contemplation, contemplation is also called rational intuition. When people contemplate something, they must be full with emotions which has become the source of human artistic creation. The characteristic of experience is intuitive and it also aims to the experience of human beings’life.Aesthetics contemplation not only has the important philosophical and aesthetic significances, but also has important practical significance which is mainly manifested in the art aesthetics.For example, "Songs of the Chu" put forward the theory of flowing contemplation, "Shi Shuo Xin Yu" focused on contemplation of the people, and "Wen Xin Diao Long" put forward the aesthetic realm of indulging in things. Aesthetic contemplation is widely used in the field of art, of which the most prominent art is the painting and landscape. Our ancient Chinese artists skillfully penetrate their emotions into the painting aesthetics, and then the concept contemplation has a strong emotional color and vitality. Whether Zong Bing who was in the Wei and Jin Dynasties put forward the theory of "tasting things under the selfless condition", or Guo Xi who lived in the Song Dynasty put forward the theory of "three distance" in the book of "Lin Quan Gao Zhi", or Shen Kuo put forward the theory of "observing things from the whole", all the theories reflect that Chinese people could convey their temperaments and emotions through artistic works. Aesthetic contemplation is also applied into Chinese classical garden art and aesthetic ideology, and the most representative works are "Yuan ye" and "Xian Qing Ou Ji".Contemplation is also practiced in our daily life. In our modern consuming society material is adequate, and the visual culture of market economy era makes the aesthetic contemplation stagnant. We are too busy to watch our own hearts. How to make the real life aesthetic, and the answer lies in the return of aesthetic contemplation. Tourism aesthetic contemplation is the practical interaction between a tourism subject and a tourism object which can help tourists obtain aesthetic feelings and achieve aesthetic value. And also, it has the advantage of merging the tourism subject and the tourism object which tourist gaze doesn’t have, and only in this way can people gain the top aesthetic feelings. Importantly, tourism aesthetic contemplation has the characteristics of internationalism, perception, experience and non-utilitarianism. What is more, tourism aesthetic contemplation is devoted to acquiring the sense of spiritual freedom that most tourists value highly, and this is just the significance of tourism aesthetic contemplation. |
PDF Full Text Request