Usefulness Through Uselessness: Comment On WangGuowei's Aesthetic Education Ideology

Wang Guowei is the first Chinese scholar who does not only introduce the western theory of aesthetic education , but also advocate the aesthetic education and consider it as one of the ways to cultivate the ideal human beings . From the theoretical point of view , his aesthetic education ideology is so comprehensive and logical that it has important theoretical value . From the pratical point of view , there is also important revelation of contemporary consuming society on how to break away from mental scrape and how to cultivate the aesthetic personality . So , this article systematically clears , analyzes and appraises the Wang Guowei' s aesthetic education ideology . Firstly , the writer introduces Wang Guowei' s schorship and the review of his aesthetic education ideology studies , then points out the research value of this subject . Secongdly , the writer dicusses the times backgrounds and the theoretical sources of Wang Guowei' s aesthetic education ideology. Thirdly, the writer points out the spiritual connotation of Wang Guowei' s aesthetic education ideology on the basis of the western aesthetic education ideology . He considers that owing to the features of the aesthetic education ideology: usefulness through uselessness , so we can come ture the object of the aesthetic education by the ways of classic eleqance , addiction , aesthetic clarity—to cultivate " the ideal human beings " who own the aesthetic personality exceeding the spirit. Finally, the writer emphasizes the revelation of contempary society that Wang Guowei' s aesthetic education ideology have. We should breakthrough the utilitarian misunderstanding area of contempary aesthetic education, go out the consumptional aesthetic misunderstanding area of the contempary society , relif from the times difficulties of the elite aesthetic education ideology and cultivate the aesthetic personality in the aesthetic education .