On The Taoist Natural Esthetics

This paper, divided into three parts: philosophical grounds, literary forms and contemporary cultural explanations, explores esthetical idea and existent idea of the Taoist natural esthetics possessing ternary identities: philosophical implications, literary forms and cultural spirits. The dual meanings of "nature": "entity dimensionality"and "value dimensionality", embodied accordingly in ontology and axiology of the Taoist natural esthetics, are discovered through the clarification to philosophical grounds of the Taoist natural esthetics. From the view of ontology, "nature"is "Tao"——a absolute reality and ultimate entity exceeding material nature; from the perspective of axiology, "nature"is a value preference pursuing vital inherent significance and individual personality freedom. Although the Taoist natural esthetics is to a large extent a theoretic hypothesis which causes its philosophical grounds have to be based on a transcendent, metaphysical and ultimate cultural system, it is its transcendent essence of Utopia that make it possible to complete civilization missions impossible for other empirical cultures. By virtue of illuminations to the literary form of the Taoist natural esthetics in the view of morphology and motifology, it is revealed that the explanations of literature by Taoists are apparently different, but are consistent in ultimate thinking mode and the deep psychologic implication. They both tend to consider issues on esthetics in conformity between self and nature and in contradiction between ego and nonego, and put the understanding of "natural Tao"as "culture in nature"into the literary form as "culture in human", so as to regard nature as a supreme esthetical idea. Through cultural explanations of the Taoist natural esthetics, it is found that Taoism possesses a divine insight into life and a poetic grasp of existence, and comprises existent idea and poetic wisdoms leading existent meaning of human into exaltation and perfection, putting philosophies, esthetics, arts and poems together and melting lofty spiritual apperceptions, cultural spirits and life practices. Taoism holding brilliance and dignity of nature by poetic intuition firmly refuses the interference of human will into mysterious natural process and historical process, and calls for human to discard the chain of nonego, in harmony with the mysterious great beauty of universe in natural way and to appreciate the mysterious immense power of natural life. In contrast to the dominant utilitarian natural conceptions, the Taoist natural esthetics contains more profound existent wisdoms playing a huge role in rectifying abuses and disadvantages of current ideologies.