Early Chinese Aesthetic Thinking In The 20th Century

The Chinese aesthetic education thought in the earlier period of 20 centuries involves many aspects. This text selects the earlier period (30's ago) thought of Liang Qichao, Wang Guowei, Cai Yuanpei and Lu Xun as the individual cases to analyze. On the basis of it, the text probes into the earlier Chinese estheticians of 20 centuries by way of analyzing the aesthetic education in three main respects as follows: the essence and characteristic, function and the implementing method and channels. The text hopes to find out the social cultural reason behind the earlier Chinese aesthetic education and its Chinese and western philosophical and aesthetic background. The purpose of the text is to inquire into the enlightening guidance to the contemporary aesthetic education practice and provide reference to the reality by means of the historical research and thorough grasp on the Chinese modern earlier aesthetic education thought.This text takes the method that the logic is mutually united with history and analyzes the earlier period aesthetic education thought on its characteristics, cause and its contemporary meaning comparatively completely. This text thinks that the Chinese aesthetic education thought in the earlier period of 20 centuries reflects clear ages special features, assumes a heavy responsibility for having thought enlightening and has strong social practice character. The estheticians want to reform national character, rescue people's thought and culture crisis, cure people's spiritual wound and set up new concept on art and literature and aesthetics. The social situation at that time was full of internal revolt and foreign invasion, so the aesthetic education more performanced a kind of setting new person education, that is to say, its purpose is to develop the new citizens who grow the health headings up and have the free consciousness in democracy. The estheticians generally think that art and literature has the useless use, it contains immense strength and can make people have amazing imaginative power and creativity.The text thinks that the earlier aesthetic education thought is the result of connection and fusion between China and the west. The thought and practice relevant to the aesthetic education exists from the remote past, but the feeling within the scope of China ancient times is more neglected of, usually is requested to be controlled by the reason and brought into the scope of reason. The Confucian consider that the good is the highest aim of personality fostering, so they usually put the good above the beauty, even sometimes abolish the independent existence value of beauty and depress the development of humanity. For this, the estheticians usher in the western aesthetics thoughts and want to resolve the realistic society and life problem by appreciating beauty. They think that only have virtuous, intelligent, physical and aesthetic education developed completely, the person can really be the complete person. This text thinks that the earlier period aesthetic education thought makes a point of training the people treat the nature, society, life and oneself with the appreciative attitude, tries hard to make the person become the person who appreciate beauty or say to be a living artist. It has the enlightening function not only to then, but also to now.