A Study Of Cai Yuanpei’s Experimental Aesthetics

Cai Yuanpei was a Chinese cultural celebrity in the20th century. And he was an officials and scholars at the same time, who served for the people in academic way and took the social responsibility when he did researches. Cai Yuanpei used to be an traditional Chinese literati, while he transferred into a contemporary scholar after he studied in Europe. On the one hand, as a literati and scholars, he held high the banner of democracy and science at the same time, in the hope that reforming the nature of Chinese national and benefiting the nation. On the other hand, as an official, he never abandoned his responsibility for the Chinese people. Wondering between polity and academics in all his life, Cai Yuanpei, whose significant contribution was neither specific in polity nor in academics, promoted China’s New Cultural Movement which named him as a pioneer of Chinese aesthetic education by the advantage of his political opportunity and his academic insight.Because the core of Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic thought is aesthetic education which essentially is charactered by education idea and practice. This dissertation,which is on the topic of The aesthetic Thought On Cai Yuanpei, summarizes Cai Yuanpei’s thought into a key word---" experience", so that we could grasp the core of his thought, and illuminate the purpose and function of his aesthetic research and practice.The thesis expounds the origin of experimental aesthetics are experimental psychology and German experimental aesthetics, and Cai Yuanpei’s thought are distinguished itself from making a creative transformation which transforms experimental aesthetics thought into aesthetic education one. And viewing aesthetic education from the thought of experimental aesthetics, we could find a far more profound academic background for Cai Yuanpei’s thought and view on aesthetic education.The key words of Cai Yuanpei’ aesthetic thought are evolution, experience and aesthetic education. And Cai Yuanpei differs art from aesthetics, although both of which have distinctive color of the time for he considers them in the sense of evolution which is combined by thoughts from Darwin’s theory of evolution and Bergson’s creative one. Cai Yuanpei divides art into static art and dynamic one, and the former one includes painting, sculpture, architecture, literature and poetry; the later one includes music, singing and so on. And dance is considered as one specific art between static and dynamic one. He thought art is the foundation of aesthetics, and the later ones is the theoretical form of the former one.Cai Yuanpei was educated in philosophy, history and culture in German. In philosophy, he takes the thought of Kant, understanding and grasping the whole and basic idea that he agrees with him on the division of phenomena scope and noumenon scope. Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic thought is deeply influenced by Kant’s, he always illustrates various features of aesthetic perception in the sense of fine art and artistic form by Kant’s definition about beauty---beauty is the pleasure which requires no interest. While the foundation of his aesthetic thought originates from the idea and methods of German experimental aesthetics, especially German esthetician Wilhelm Wundt, Meumaan and Gustav Theeodor Fechner. So Cai Yuanpei’s thought about aesthetic education can be considered as the actual application of experimental aesthetic though in China.Cai Yuanpei advocates to study aesthetics from the interrelationship between subject and object which is also the general principle of his research on aesthetics. The object of Beauty is not a objective thing, and it is somehow subjective. That is to say, the object of Beauty, the experience and the creation of it are all the result of the interaction of subjectivity and objectivity. He considers the Beauty of nature and the Beauty of relationship as his research objects, and he thinks the question of how to definite the object of aesthetics is the aesthetic question itself. As an object of Beauty is a discovery of an aesthete, the object of Beauty is never an objectively existed being. Even the type of the beauty such as:Sublime, Beautiful and Funny are always showed by something, for example:by literature, drama, dialogue and speech. And the Beauty of body which Cai Yuanpei mentions is not the purely Beauty of body itself, but is the one which is in new level of the Beauty of human nature. That is to say, the Beauty of body is not only a physical Beauty, but also is the Beauty of human nature. And the Beauty of body is static beauty, such as fat and thin, tall and short, face, curves, the color of skin and so on, are all presented in static state. Then in the movement sense, from the gait, grooming, discourse, temperament, especially the temperate and mentality, can we separate the character of nobility and vulgarity; and the characters of loftiness and chasteness which are determining by behaviour are definitely the Beauty of human nature, and it also can be considered as an active beauty which is from the outside of human being to the inside. The attitude and the purpose of life are related to the Beauty of human nature as well, serving the society and the whole human being, promoting the development and advance of society are the Sublime Beauty as well as parts of the Beauty of human nature. In his thought aesthetic psychology is the research object of Beauty, so Cai Yuanpei points out the affect of imagination in the aesthetic object, mentions that vision and auditory have the most directly relationship in the experience of sense, and he also think aesthetic object has no relationship with interest.Cai Yuanpei also discusses the relationship between aesthetics and science. And he wants to emphasis the disadvantages of pursuing knowledge simply, so he advocates on seeking the emotional education beside the pursuing knowledge, which means "To pursuit the science, to pursuit the fine arts. Because the enjoyment which is offered by fine arts makes the life far more meaningful and valuable, and even when people do scientifical research, they will be encouraged and entertained by it." So Cai Yuanpei asked his followers to do things in this way.Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic thought is one aspect of his education thought whose foundation are all around development of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetics and labor education. This thesis analyzes Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic thought under the whole structure of his education thought, does research about his aesthetic thought and education thought at the same time instead of doing research on them separately, and it is the new trail of research methods on aesthetics. This thesis analyzes that the purpose of Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic education is to promote the human qualities of Chinese, and his’s implementation of aesthetic education whose process is the whole life long aesthetic education from the beginning to the grave. So we should consider the idea of Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic education which includes aesthetic education in family, in school and in the society as a blueprint of aesthetic education for all the citizens in the sense of whole life aesthetic education and all around education.Cai Yuanpei puts forward an influential proposal that "Replacing the Religion by aesthetic Education in the process of Civilianization" which gains lots of scholars’ attention and wins its positive and negative comments at the same time. And this thesis interprets this proposal comprehensively and questions the possibility of it. So it is reasonable to say the proposal of "Replacing the Religion by aesthetic Education in the process of Civilianization" is significant at that time, and it is not a academic proposal, but the one which is used to carry out Cai Yuanpei’s idea of aesthetic education on the context. Then we can not criticizes it in the sense of truth. Cai Yuanpei does discover the differences between the effect of fine arts in religion and aesthetic education, fine arts refers to specific kinds of art, while aesthetic education are the education and appreciation of Beauty. And what they are difference in effect are the former one creates the Beauty, while the later one help us appreciate it. And the the various of aesthetic notions will affect the creation and appreciation of Beauty as well.In his opinion, the effect of intellectual, moral and physical education in religion have changed with the development of science, while only the effect of aesthetic one is reserved. That is to say, other three kinds of education in religion affect on their own. And this is the train of Cai Yuanpei’s thought and logic about aesthetic education. There still is moral education in religion, and the new form of physic one does not replace the the content of physical education in traditional religion, aesthetic one even is separated from religion and gains its new expression methods, and of course intellectual one independents from the religion for it is not the main propose of religion. This thesis holds this view that Cai Yuanpei makes the aesthetic education standing out of the other three kinds of education in religion, and then aesthetic education is the only elements which remains in religion. While his view can not be the evidence to prove the proposal of "Replacing the Religion by aesthetic Education in the process of Civilianization" neither in the reality or in logic.Cai Yuanpei gets the conclusion that only aesthetic education make sense in the religion from the development of ancient religion, then he finds the religion itself has obvious limitations by comparing the differences of education’s effect in religion and aesthetic education. And this thesis illuminates in which sense the conservative and forceful limitation in religion, while freedom, universality and advancement in aesthetic education, then points out Cai Yuanpei’s research about the limitation of religion has the accurate and limited aspects at the same time, because he does not analyze religion from the angle of a religion researcher, but from an advocate of aesthetic education and educator.Cai Yuanpei’s proposal in aesthetic education is his idea about education as well as the idea and practice to promote the all around qualities of citizens, strengthen the comprehensive power of nation and building the country. And that is to say, he does not place the pursuit of truth in the first place, but the development of society and nation. So that is the reason why even he is a scholar, but not a pure aesthetics thinker, or a politician, and is a big men who has great influence in education.