"bao Pu Chapter," Aesthetic Thought

As the first systemic and theoretical work on Taoism history, Bao Pu zi Nei Pian(《抱朴子内篇》)made great contribution to the phylogeny study on Taoism theory. But the academic research about Nei Pian has been centralizing on study of religion and medicine aspects, while the research on aesthetic aspect has not been enough and adequate. So, this thesis aims to study the unique features of the Chinese aesthetic culture embodied in Nei Pian.There are three chapters in this thesis. Chapter one is named Hanker the Syncretism of Appearance and Spirit. Taoism believes that the syncretism of appearance and spirit is the best way to preserve one's health. This thought emphasizes the consistency of appearance and spirit, which also exists in aesthetics. This appearance-spirit theory reflects the unique feature of Chinese aesthetic culture, which attaches great importance to values of life and treasures individual peace, health, luck and a long life span.Chapter two is named The World of Supernatural Being and the Ideality of DiXian. The spiritual freedom of the supernatural being and the happiness of DiXian, incarnate the Chinese aesthetic values of real-time happiness as well as benefits, and signify the trend of seeking surpassing in another world.Chapter three is named From Body-spirit theory to Appearance-spirit Theory of Art. During Wei and Jin dynasties, appearance-spirit issue had been attached specific aesthetic meanings and become a particular category in Chinese esthetic art theories. Tracing out the origin of the appearance-spirit theory from pre-Qin Dynasty to Wei-Jin dynasties, this thesis outlines its changing history in terms of health-keeping, and discusses briefly, by analyzing Gehong's life, how did appearance-spirit relationship change to an art category.