The Political Ethics of Aestheticism: “Beauty” and “Virtue” in Wang Guowei’s Early Poetics and Thoughts

Jiang Haowei

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2) : 166-174.

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Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2) : 166-174.
Issue in Focus: Studies of Modern Poetics

The Political Ethics of Aestheticism: “Beauty” and “Virtue” in Wang Guowei’s Early Poetics and Thoughts

  • Jiang Haowei
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Abstract

Wang Guowei's early translation and application of western aesthetic and moral conceptualizations by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schiller, and Arthur Schopenhauer were characterized by his subjective preferences. These preferences are mainly represented in his strong care for the morality of the lower class, his suspension of the concept of God in western ethics, his political moralization of the subject’s practical rationality, and his hierarchization of morality and intellectual character. In Wang Guowei's non-utilitarian and non-political aestheticism, there is a latent admiration and enthusiasm for traditional Chinese political morality. This differs fundamentally from Schiller’s idea about aesthetic enlightenment, and also reflects the consistency and integrity in Wang Guowei’s thoughts despite the seemingly split between his early and later academic life.

Key words

Wang Guowei

/ Arthur Schopenhauer / Friedrich Schiller / aestheticism / political morality

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Jiang Haowei.

The Political Ethics of Aestheticism: “Beauty” and “Virtue” in Wang Guowei’s Early Poetics and Thoughts [J].

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 2022, 42(2): 166-174

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