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25 June 2014, Volume 34 Issue 3 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Issue in Focus: Art Theory

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Three Issues in Art Theory Zhou Xian 2014, 34 (3):  6-13.  Abstract ( 762 )   PDF (419KB) ( 116 )   Art theory is both a contested concept and vaguely defined field of knowledge. The paper discusses three issues in art theory, trying to interpret art theory and its production of knowledge from different perspectives. First, the paper claims that art theory intermediates between aesthetics and subject theories of arts, and that, through self-criticism, the negative understanding of this intermediacy may be turned into positive construction to promote the development of art theory. Secondly, the paper examines from the perspective of field theory the origin, the institution and the symbolic capital of knowledge producer, and then it investigates the significance of debates of art theory and the prospect of the compromised consensus. Finally, the paper observes that, due to the consistent theoretical attention, the poetry-painting relation, or rather the literature-arts relation, becomes an important fundamental resources for the knowledge production of art theory. Poetry and painting, unlike other art forms that require more professional and technical knowledge, are more apt for interpretation under the general issues and principles, and therefore they become two utmost important fields for studying art theories. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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What Is Our Contemporary Art Theory Li Jian 2014, 34 (3):  14-20.  Abstract ( 893 )   PDF (399KB) ( 83 )   The transformation of Chinese art theory from the classical to the modern takes place within the framework of multiple tensions between such elements as the inheritance and the innovation of traditional ideas, the introduction and reformation of Western resources, and the concerns and responses to the context of the times. The paper proposes that the connotation and features of the art theory in modern and contemporary China may be described with the help of the concept of modernity, as further analyses may be done at the disciplinary level on the logic of its development and on some micro issues. These examinations may help to form more historically sensible and reality based prospective judgment on the discipline of art in contemporary China. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The "Invention" of System in the Development of Western Art Yin Manting 2014, 34 (3):  21-28.  Abstract ( 941 )   PDF (483KB) ( 166 )   The development of arts in the 18th century reached a crucial stage in the Western art history, as it saw the gradual emergence of the modern art system. The system, though not shown in the drastic changes of artistic styles and tastes, was significant for the development of the ideas of arts. Different elements help to build an environment for the institutionalization of arts and to promote the establishment of the modern system of fine arts, and the elements include the institutionalization of art criticism, the emergence of modern art historical methods, and the establishment of Aesthetics as a discipline, as well as the development of modern art institutions such as museums. These developments during the 18th century also prepared for both the legitimacy of the idea of the autonomy of arts and the differentiation of fine arts in the 19th century. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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"New Scholar-Official Community" and Art Theory in the Tang and Song Dynasties Tong Qiang 2014, 34 (3):  29-35.  Abstract ( 824 )   PDF (488KB) ( 91 )   The prosperity of Chinese culture in the Tang and Song Dynasties also means the maturity of Chinese art. The imperial examination and the civil office selection system result in the rise of a social group called "New Scholar-Official Community" who came to be the main force of artistic creations. The shared a similar background of education and civil service experience, and the similar cultural background cultivated similar artistic tastes. This community influenced the features and trends of artistic creations, as well as the development of art theory. To examine the relationship between art, art theory and New Scholar-Official Community during the period from the Tang to the Qing Dynasty when the imperial examination played a dominant role in the selection of civil officials, the paper hopes to find an anchor point for the self-awareness of the art theory today. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Issue in Focus: Debates on Metaphysical Aesthetics

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The Re-Enchantment of Aesthetics: Back to Metaphysics Liu Xuguang 2014, 34 (3):  36-48.  Abstract ( 850 )   PDF (680KB) ( 185 )   Only through the perspective of metaphysics can the unique nature of transcendence and idealism of aesthetic activities be explained. Without the setting of idea and universality by metaphysics, engendering the judgment of appreciation is impossible; therefore, aesthetic is metaphysics' child. Only in the thinking of metaphysics, engendering aesthetic is possible. The absence of metaphysics must result in the lack of ideality, so art sink into live, and aesthetic descends to be pleasant sensation. The paper claims that aesthetic will be re-enchanted through re-instating the dimension of metaphysics into aesthetic appreciation. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Track and Off-track of Metaphysical Aesthetics: with a Discussion of "Elimination" of Elimination Aesthetics Wang Feng 2014, 34 (3):  49-56.  Abstract ( 824 )   PDF (570KB) ( 45 )   Metaphysical aesthetics appears to be a countercurrent to contemporary aesthetics, but it is actually an effort to find a direction in constructing aesthetic ideals, as a backwash and critique of the unfortunate fact that contemporary aesthetics has ignored metaphysics. From the perspective of aesthetic critique, this may be the right track of metaphysics. However, from the perspective of argumentation systems based on its theoretical resources, it may be conservative and foundationally unstable as it may lead to the establishment of an ideal aesthetics and further point to a setting up of some faith. What the Aesthetics of Elimination tries to eliminate is not all the concepts but the aesthetical construction based on idealism. Since this construction comes from Kantian appreciation judgment, it is imperative to expose the mystification of aesthetics in Kantian appreciation judgment. The Aesthetics of Elimination aims at a critique of the construction of metaphysical aesthetics, hoping to bring aesthetics back to language use. With this aim, it can both undermine the systematic construction of aesthetics and retain the hope of metaphysics. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Beauty as an Action of Art: from the Aspect of Aesthetics of Life Zhang Baogui 2014, 34 (3):  57-63.  Abstract ( 847 )   PDF (580KB) ( 86 )   There are two ideas about the legitimacy of aesthetics as a discipline. Aesthetics of Elimination claims that beauty is an a prior super-concept which, absent of a corresponding super-reality, falls into the abyss of metaphysical essentialism. Hence, aesthetics is not a legitimate discipline. Metaphysical Aesthetics holds that beauty should be interpreted through Kantian purposiveness of aesthetics and claims the legitimacy of the discipline of aesthetics in its ideal-confirming value. This paper argues that metaphysical aesthetics, due to its theoretically self-enclosed nature, cannot allow aesthetic activities to take on realistic transcendent value. Aesthetics of Elimination, however, has its own major problem. While it correctly points out the illusionary nature of super-concept, it has failed to fully acknowledge its value of purposiveness. Between the two ideas in question, there is certainly a common ground, which is to take beauty as an action of art. This action, this paper concludes, not only contains transcendent value but also carries with it the mortal body of everyday life. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Reconstruction of Chinese Metaphysics Zhang Xushu 2014, 34 (3):  64-72.  Abstract ( 835 )   PDF (662KB) ( 63 )   The immortality of metaphysics originates in its human-attributed nature. The call for the reconstruction of Chinese metaphysics in the contemporary context should be understood as an intrinsic necessity of the modernization of socialism, and it should be taken as a significant component for new Chinese cultural tradition. The constant agency behind the reconstruction of Chinese metaphysics lies in the critical spirits and the courage of innovation of contemporary thinkers. Three major issues in the construction of Chinese metaphysics are the epistemological criticism of metaphysics, the views on a prior reason (a prior form), and the rebuilding of the spiritual homeland centered around free and ideal existence of human beings. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Studies in Western Literary Theory

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Cognitive Mapping and the Adventures of the Postmodern Douglas Kellner 2014, 34 (3):  73-90.  Abstract ( 834 )   PDF (910KB) ( 79 )   During the 1980s and 1990s, debates about the differences between modernity and postmodernity as historical epochs; modernism and postmodernism in the arts; and wars between modern and postmodern theory defined key theoretical problematics in intellectualized spaces of the West, like the University. Fredric Jameson was one of the initiators of debates over the postmodern, and introduced the concept of cognitive mapping to describe theoretical accounts of the contemporary moment. I discuss conceptions of theory and mapping in the modern and postmodern debates and sort out appropriate uses of the discourse of the postmodern, and the usefulness of the postmodern turn in contemporary theory, as well as some abuses of the discourse. I first suggest that distinctions between the modern and the postmodern in a wide range of issues can highlight novelties in the contemporary moment and discontinuities with the past, but that the distinction in question between the modern and the postmodern must be clearly explicated and the differences articulated. I argue that postmodern discourses help provide theoretical mappings and social narratives of the major novelties and developments in contemporary society, culture, and theory and can articulate continuities and discontinuities with the past in the present moment. Finally, I’ll argue that a multiplicity of modern and postmodern discourses helps illuminate and articulate the complexity of the present moment and that the more strong theories we have at our disposal, the better work we can do as theorists and critics. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Sade, Jouissance of Reason and the Practical Reason of Evil Yang Kailin 2014, 34 (3):  91-102.  Abstract ( 1107 )   PDF (786KB) ( 43 )   The irreducible goal of Sade's writing does not concern erotism but the Idea, not desire but truth, not history but practice. This paper focuses on the passage from the empirical description to the transcendental idea, from pornography to pornology, or from fiction to truth. The central problem is: what, through his writing, is the enterprise of thought that Sade attempts to build? In Sade, the practical reason of evil is characterized by the experience of limit and the dialectical transformation. The stake of his writing does not, however, pertain to debauchery, crimes, profanation and so forth, as the most essential for Sade is the idea of evil — the idea from which all difficulties are derived, and through which the extraordinary movements of Sade's philosophy emerge. Sade's tales reveal the singular existence of the pervert, but each resonates "one and the only sense" of being by representing its own difference. This as such suggests the univocity of evil in Sade. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Aesthetic Intuition and The Truth of Art: A Phenomenological Interpretation of "the End of Art" Su Hongbin, Liao Yusheng 2014, 34 (3):  103-115.  Abstract ( 1001 )   PDF (846KB) ( 100 )   The end of art as a theoretical claim has been proposed in the Western aesthetics by Plato, Hegel and Arthur Danto. The reason for the repetitive raising of the claim is, the paper argues, that the Western thought is too rooted in the dualism between perception and reason to reach the truth of art. The paper thus proposes the replacement of the perception-reason dualism with the monism of intuition, on the ground that intuition is the original epistemic capacity and the origin of both perception and reason of human beings. Intuition is the capacity to grasp the essence of things, which will be transformed to concept and system of knowledge by reason, or expressed as image by perception. Therefore, the essential quality of art is intuition, and art provides the basic way to reach truth. Art will continue to exist with human's will to seek truth. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Contemporary Russian Literature and Art Policy and Ideology Reconstruction Against the Revival of Orthodox Church Tian Gangjian 2014, 34 (3):  116-123.  Abstract ( 791 )   PDF (815KB) ( 122 )   The literature and art policy in Putin's era epitomizes the "New Russian Idea" in the ideological field. To fill the ideological vacuum in the USSR, especially the Yeltsin era, the Russian government passed legislation on laws, education and diplomacy to introduce Orthodox Church into the reconstruction of national ideology. Through the core values of the Orthodox Church implanted into Russian literature and arts such as empire worship, eschatological salvation, community sense, etc, the policy of literature and art in the Putin government has performed important role in integrating societal thought, boosting the national spirit, curbing moral degradation, promoting national identity and strengthening cultural soft power. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Interview

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"Benjamin: Existence Toward Space": A Confluence of Philosophy, Poetics and Messiah: An Interview with Peter Fenves Li Sha, Peter Fenves 2014, 34 (3):  124-132.  Abstract ( 1198 )   PDF (798KB) ( 118 )   Walter Benjamin was taken as a post-structuralist and a "left" cultural critic in Chinese academia since his thought was first introduced into China in1980s. To trace back to the origin and formulation of Benjamin's aesthetics, an interview is conducted with Professor Peter Fenves, whose German literary and philosophical researches have been based on his explorations and explanations of Benjamin's "Critique of Violence" (1921). The interview focuses on the source of his thought and its trajectory of development, discussing such philosophers and poets as Kant, Leibniz, Hölderlin, Husserl, Heidegger and Derrida who may have influenced Benjamin. In the interview, Professor Fenves explicates the core concepts such as "transition", "one-way street", "monad", "semblance", "dialectical images" and "existence toward space" and so on, and reveals the confluence of philosophy, poetics and messiah in Benjamin’s thought. Besides, the interviewer and Professor Fenves have also discussed European assimilations of Chinese Daoism and demonstrated an internal dialogue between Benjamin's aesthetics and Chinese traditional art. Related Articles | Metrics

Classical Literary Theory and Criticism

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The Interaction Between Genres and Its Significance for Literary History Zhang Zhongmou 2014, 34 (3):  133-145.  Abstract ( 754 )   PDF (920KB) ( 121 )   Ancient Chinese genre system is relatively self-contained, with each genre representing a unique function of expression. The uniqueness is both the condition and the reason for its existence, while the genres within the system co-exist and complement each other, configuring the spirit, psychology, character and temperament of the Chinese as a cultural nation. Chinese genre system has considerable stability during a certain period of literary development, and it may be claimed that the evolution of Chinese literature is that of literary genres. When a new influential genre wedges in the system, it brings about an ecological change of the system. This paper focuses on the following six forms of interaction between genres: the emergence of a brand new genre, the replacement of an old genre, the generational heritance of genres, symbiosis of different genres, hybrid genre from grafting, and cross-boundary criticism. Investigation into ancient Chinese genre system may provide a new point of departure for not only the periodization of genres but also the writing of Chinese literary history. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Significance of Bai Juyi as "The Third Pole" in the Tang Poetry Luo Shijin 2014, 34 (3):  146-155.  Abstract ( 778 )   PDF (843KB) ( 49 )   Bai Juyi was a monumental poet and a special cultural icon in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, which was also called "the centre of all dynasties" by Ye Xie. Bai Juyi initiated a turning point in literary writing and influenced the spiritual world and outlook on existence of the scholar-officials, and became "the third pole" of the Tang-Dynasty poetry and culture, along with the other two poles of Li Bai and Du Fu. If Li Bai presented an ethereal poetic prototype and a wayward personal image, while Du Fu composed formally subtle poems with a grave spirit of saving the world, then Bai Juyi had cultivated a simple and plain idea of poetry that had freed himself from grandiloquent officialese so that he could pursue material and spiritual comforts to the fullest without having any moral risks. He exerted an enormous influence upon the scholar-bureaucrat group of later dynasties both in literature and wisdom about life. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Three Alternative Forms of Ancient Chinese Fiction Li Pengfei 2014, 34 (3):  156-166.  Abstract ( 633 )   PDF (858KB) ( 43 )   The paper proposes an alternative way to categorize ancient Chinese novels in terms of their representation and its effects of social customs, historical background, natural scenes and objects, and it argues for three categories to be the concrete representation, the abstract representation, and the half concrete half abstract representation. This categorization does not take the fundamental elements such as plot, character, and theme to be the criteria, and it may offer a new perspective to examine the artistic characteristics of ancient novels and the authors’ way of thinking. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Social Mores of the Intellectuals in the Capital of Beijing and the Spreading of Changzhou Ci-Poetry Theory in the Late Qing Dynasty Xie Yan 2014, 34 (3):  167-180.  Abstract ( 822 )   PDF (1006KB) ( 117 )   The theoretical system of Changzhou Ci-Poetry School active in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, though constructed early, reached the mainstream ci-poetry circle as the result of changes in the learning and social mores of intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty. The want for change was generally felt in the ci-poetry circle in early Daoguang Reign (1821-1850). This want for change corresponded to the political demands of the poet-officials who had newly entered the officialdom, which enabled the spreading of the Confucian idea of ci-poetry in the early Changzhou Ci-Poetry theory. This theoretical idea invested new implications into the ancient belief of "residing in a private chamber with the state in the heart." After the theory of Changzhou Ci-Poetry School came to be known in the capital of Beijing, it was then revised by the Guangxi-born poets such as Long Qirui and Wang Zheng. The theory then integrated the prosody theory of Wuzhong Ci-Poetry school, the clear elegance of Zhexi Ci-Poetry School and the expository structure of Tongcheng Classical-style Prose, before it spread to the whole nation after the promotional activities of Linggui Ci-poets. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Modern and Contemporary Literary Theory and Criticism

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The Autonomy of Art and the Justice of Aesthetics Xu Dai 2014, 34 (3):  181-194.  Abstract ( 975 )   PDF (975KB) ( 229 )   To promote aesthetic justice is to re-incorporate contemporary aesthetics into the life world by way of ethnics and to bring out theoretical significance for the present. From the view of logic, the issue of "the autonomy of art" may be argued to be essential for the practice-oriented ethic aesthetics. Different views on this issue may be understood as what Wittgenstein called the misunderstanding of the words, and they do not conceal the essence of the problem and there has no fundamental confliction between these apparently chaotic views. The paper maintains that the investigation of aesthetic justice has to be preceded with "the autonomy of art" as its premise. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Verbal Image and Image-Idea: A Divide of Semiotic Interpretation of Poetry Li Xinshi 2014, 34 (3):  195-202.  Abstract ( 887 )   PDF (839KB) ( 158 )   This paper starts from the perspective of semiotic poetics and by introducing the poetic term "verbal image" and re-interpreting the traditional term "yi xiang" (image-idea), it tries to clarify the relationship between language, verbal image and image-idea in poetics. Verbal image and image-idea can be distinguished for the different natures of their symbolic objects. Verbal Image can be divided into physical verbal image and transferred verbal image. The combination of meta-language and connotative signification can illustrate the formation mechanism of verbal image. The difference in language use, aesthetic principle, and the definition of poetry between the modern and the classical poetry appears to be in the different use of verbal image and image-idea, and the paper concludes that the construction of verbal image theory may promote the shift from classical poetics to modern poetics in China. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Changing of the Person in the Narration in Modern Chinese Literature and its Intellectual Implications Xie Huiying, Zhou Weiwei 2014, 34 (3):  203-209.  Abstract ( 859 )   PDF (796KB) ( 70 )   The person used in narration is an essential factor of narrative rhetoric, and it plays an important role in the construction and representation of the "realness" in a novel. The choice of the person in narration may, on the one hand, abide by the implicit imperatives which the historical context enforced on "realness," and closely links to the identity of the intellectual group who undertakes the task of narrating. The novels during the May 4th Movement in 1919 correspond to the spirit of individual liberation, and the following two decades saw the transformation to popularization and nationalization. The paper demonstrates that, among the modern Chinese novels produced during this thirty-year period, the choice of the person and the changes of the person use in narration are representative in the above mentioned two aspects. The paper concludes that the strategies behind the choice of the person provide a significant perspective for examining the complexity of modern Chinese literary field. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Reconstructing the Poetic Appeal of Contemporary Chinese Prose: A Case Study on Zhao Lihong's Prose Wu Zhouwen 2014, 34 (3):  210-216.  Abstract ( 818 )   PDF (804KB) ( 69 )   The paper explores the poetic appeals in Zhao Lihong's 30-year prose writing from the following three perspectives: the positioning of the authenticity of the author's subjecthood, the choice of the approaches to poeticization, and the creation of the narrative form. The existence of these appeals proves that they reveal a problem unresolved for decades in contemporary Chinese prose. Critically inheriting the poetic tradition in May 4th Period and the First 17-Year-Period of Communist China, Zhao Lihong’s prose constructs a poetic discourse of prose aesthetics, which points to a way for the contemporary and the future prose in China. References | Related Articles | Metrics