A Comparative Study On The Aesthetic Thoughts Of Confucius And Plato From The Historical Perspective

As the founders of Chinese and Western aesthetics, the aesthetic thoughts of Confucius and Plato have great influence in the Chinese and western history. So it is very important to compare the aesthetic thoughts of Confucius with that of Plato in the view of history, which can research the differences between Chinese and western aesthetics and analyze the social and cultural origins between them so as to make further researches on the development of aesthetics. Meanwhile, the traditional Chinese aesthetics is quite useful for Chinese and western societies to get rid of the artistic troubles and spiritual crisis.The preface in this dissertation firstly introduces the significance of the research on the aesthetic thoughts of Confucius and Plato and the current situation of researches on them. Then, after the introduction of the Chinese classic aesthetic thoughts in Qin Dynasty, the system of aesthetic theory is introduced and analyzed, for example, the foundation of Confucius aesthetic thoughts, the relationship between "beauty" and "goodness", the aesthetic ideal of "Beauty of Neutralization and Harmony", the aesthetic entertainment, aesthetic function, etc. Finally, the historic status and influence are analyzed. The introduction and analysis of Plato's aesthetic thoughts are the same to those of Confucius. Plato's theories of rationality, imitation, inspiration and social function of art are introduced and analyzed after the introduction of early ancient Greek aesthetics. Then, the historic status and influence are studied. At last, the aesthetic thoughts of Confucius and Plato are compared specifically and deeply from the aspects of the origin, the subjects, the foundation and the nature of aesthetics, etc.The result of this dissertation shows that the aesthetic thoughts of Confucius and Plato appeared in different social conditions, different ideological and cultural conditions and different philosophical thinking modes. Therefore, the differences of the aesthetic thoughts between Confucius and Plato is the reflection of the differences between the Chinese and western thoughts and cultures. This dissertation enriches the researches on the aesthetic thoughts of Confucius and Plato to a certain degree. It also concludes the differences of aesthetic thoughts between Confucius and Plato, which can promote the further development of the aesthetic research in China.