A Research About The Aesthetic Category Of Tian Ji

The term "Tianji" gradually evolved from "tian" and "ji" of the ancient cultural thoughts, which has its first appearance in Zhuangzi. Lu Ji, a litterateur of the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, first introduced the term into literary theory in his representative work "Wen Fu",in which he subordinated " Tianji" in a large part to the "inspiration theory" in the creation stage. He attached great importance to "Tianji", which was deemed to be a point or creative power to stimulate inspiration in the process of artistic conception. Followed him, there were lots of literary theorists who employed "Tianji" to elucidate the inspiration as a psychological phenomenon, but other endeavor performing dimensional analysis of "Tianji" were also made. Therefore, its aesthetic connotation of was constantly enriched and developed. In the development of Tang,Song,Ming and Qing Dynasties, "Tianji" became an important content of the criticism and appreciation in the field of poetry,paintings,and opera with the gradual establishment of its aesthetic properties, from which it need to focus differently corresponding to the literary tendency of a certain dynasty. Although "Tianji" was endowed with rich aesthetic connotation, generally speaking, it refers to the state of a perfect harmony between the genuine feelings of the aesthetic subject and ingenious stroke of the works of art. Specifically, the "genuineness" and "ingenuity" would present a ultimate state of ’fusion of feelings and settings’ and ’unity of Man and Nature’. However, "Tianji" is not only involved in literary theory and appreciation of characters, but refers to the outstanding aesthetic qualities of the artists. Being mysterious, occasional, instantaneous and precipitate, "Tianji" cannot be distinctly elucidated with the fleeting images. In a word,"Tianji" is a distinct Chinese national aesthetic category with rich content and profound connotation. This thesis gives a research of "Tianji" as a aesthetic category on the basis of the original meaning of Zhuangzi by sorting out its historical development, clarifying its category connotation and improving its aesthetic meanings. The research of the aesthetic category of "Tianji" not only has important implications for the aesthetic and literary theory, but considerable reference values for the construction of the modern minds and the return of beauty.