The Becoming Of Aesthetic Politics:The Evolution Of The Concept Of "Body-Space" Of The Cultural Thought In The Late Ming Dynasty

In the Late Ming Dynasty,it was a historical era in which economic,political,and cultural fields have undergone dramatic changes.Taking cultural sociology as the research method,observing the aesthetic trend of the intellectual with the perspectives of body and space,it will help to reveal the becoming and intervention mechanisms of the aesthetic politics in the Late Ming.In the tradition of Chinese intellectual history before the Late Ming Dynasty,the individual's self-cultivation,and the operation of political and ethical order are based on the "Tao".The space is divided into the natural space and the social space.Both are based on the Tao and in the "pre-existence and response" mode of operation,on the basis of this,the social space has developed its action rules based on the ethical system,and evolved into a single ethical political space.The body covers the categories of physique and desire.The individual self-disciplines the body from three aspects: decent,modest and sincere,and there is a trend of thinking that the body is as a place of resistance,which both respond to the requirements in the ethical and political aspects from the social space in different ways.The body and space are in a mutually constructive relationship.The discipline or resistance of the body demonstrates the taking the advantages mutually from each other between the ruler and the intellectual in the social space,and at the same time,the intellectual can intervene in the social space and change its rule,which based on the physical experience.With the perspective of the politic,the beginning of the late Ming Dynasty is traced back to the "the discussion of the great ceremony",in which the elf-established identity of the intellectual as a cooperator with the imperial power in the political field is deprived,and the political belief of "Being Supported by the Ruler to Carry Out the Way" is shattered.At the same time,the business in the Late Ming Dynasty has continued to develop and expand,and the interaction between intellectual and merchant has intensified.Moreover,Yangming-Confucianism and its successors have turned their attention to themselves and their daily lives.The intellectuals have turned more attention to their own bodies and daily life.In the new changes of the body concept from aesthetics in the Late Ming,from the focus of aesthetic thoughts from the spirit and morality to the physicality and skill,it points out that the intellectuals pursue the desire of the possessive and the sense,and the concept of the body has changed from the "disciplined body" to the "the body with desire".Taking Treatise on Superfluous Thing as an example,the satisfaction of the multi-dimensional sensory desires related to vision,taste,and audition is transformed into the aesthetic principles of the practicality,nature and elegance,a mode of life with elegant and luxury is constructed.In the new change of the concept of space from the aesthetics in Late Ming,from the interpretation of Wang Yangming and his successor Taizhou School on Confucianism,the internal transfer of the relationship of Li equates the individual's natural heart with the Li,and the individual's internal dimension becomes an important criterion when intellectual constructs the daily space which distinguishes with the ethical and political space.The daily space is characterized by the duality of leisure and desire.Taking the calculation of The Craft of Garden as an example,the daily space will not only construct the aesthetical taste for naturality and elegance as the external field principle,but also construct the pursuit of the luxury life and the satisfaction for the desire as the internal field principle.And with operation of the field principle,it has the function of class distinction and satisfaction for the desire.The interaction between “the body with desire” and “the daily space” constitutes a new concept of “body-space”.The body with desire promotes the continuous expansion of daily space with the way of constructing the elegance,while the daily space is the place where expands and transforms the body with desire due to the principle of adhere to the quality of the thing.The evolution of the concept of "body-space" in the aesthetic thought shows the change of the existent conditions of the individuals in Late Ming Dynasty,and it has extensive influence through the way of public communication,which relates to the interaction and separation process between the orthodoxy Confucian and the rule orthodoxy in the Late Ming Dynasty.On the one hand,it gains legitimacy through the update of the orthodoxy Confucian,on the other hand,it oversteps the boundaries envisioned by the orthodoxy Confucian,and finally constructs an autonomous social field dominated by the intellectual,weakening the control and reputation from the imperial power by separating from the rule orthodoxy.Therefore,it is a weak critical discourse.