On Wang Guowei 's Life Aesthetics

As a reflection on the modernity of aesthetic culture, aesthetic modernity tries to makeitself to be the foundation of axiology and survival theory for individual survival and so asto fight against the rational supremacism in modern society. To cope with the continuousdifferentiation mechanism of modern society and to pursuit of independence and autonomyof art aesthetic modernity itself goes into a dilemma and a logic paradox. On one handaesthetic is an organic part of modernity, which means a positive affirmation of subjectivityof human in terms of perception, value and emotional needs. On the other hand, it isnegative and critical factors in the internal structure of modernity. Its problem makes thecomplexity of modernity to appear: not only modernization is a process that includes theovercoming of its own difficulty but as a revolt against the "rational modernity" aestheticmodernity itself also has the intrinsic paradox. It hasn’t found a way to solve the problemof its own like the problem between aesthetic independence and social function, in thepluralistic orientation of aesthetic and aesthetic dilemma and in the aesthetic humanisticcharacteristics and the inevitable consequences of the value nihilism. Wang Guowei, aChinese modern aesthetics happened to touch on the issue in his academic thinking of life.He considers art as a way to realize human’s spiritual redemption and social transformation.However, how to get out of spirit of redemption and the paradox of conflict betweencultural integration has an avoidable problem. His argument that no difference between theknowledge of ancient and modern the worthy and worthless grasps the core problem ofaesthetic and hit the delicate part of dilemma of aesthetic modernity. His transcendentinsight into the spiritual redemption and cultural integration has provided us a dynamicbalance of mechanism i.e. interaction occurrence mechanism. It is his ingenious intuitionto academic outset that made his theory of life aesthetics have a transcendent vision.As the founder of modern Chinese aesthetics, Wang Guowei’s view of aesthetics is notonly inherited from and a critical thinking of traditional Chinese culture, but also learn andintegrate built on the basis of Western philosophy and aesthetics. Although the academiccareer of his life is full of ups and downs and twists and turns he shows a great HumanisticConcern. we can easily sense it in his research that his permanent pursuit of the ultimatemeaning of life itself and the place where to rest the spiritual demands. His aestheticopened a great prelude to the Chinese aesthetics of the life in the modern sense. And a great humanistic connotation is given to the Chinese aesthetic modernity significance.Thispaper argues that Wang Guowei lives in an era of great change and his painful lifeexperiences resulting in Wang Guowei’s pessimistic outlook on life. his view of life hasinternalised and systematized as a mental consiousness under the impact of Chinese Taoistphilosophy and western thought. This consciousness is specificly expressed in his aestheticresearch which is a exploration of spiritual sustenance of the life and the eternalsignificance of his and concerns for the spiritual salvation of human nature and socialtransformation function.Wang Guowei’s artistical way of life and his promotion of theaesthetic as the human soul dwelling way build his theory of humanistic connotationaesthetics.