The boundaries of beauty in Pre-Qin Confucian aesthetics

Abstract

“Beauty” is a very important concept in Pre-Qin Confucian aesthetics. Pre-Qin Confucian aesthetics generally had two viewpoints when defining beauty: Negatively, by stressing that “beauty” in the aesthetic sense was not “good”; and positively, by stressing two factors: one, that beauty was related to “feeling” which was not an animal instinct, the other was that “beauty” was a special texture with a particular meaning. “Beauty” in Pre-Qin Confucian aesthetics may be defined as “texture (or form)” capable of communicating feeling or triggering a reaction of feeling.

摘要

“美”在先秦儒家美学中是一个重要概念。 先秦儒家美学对这个概念的界定是从两个大的方面入手的: 否定的方法, 强调审美意义上的“美”不是“善”; 肯定的方法, 一方面强调美与“情”有关, 这种情不是生理快感, 另一方面强调“美”是一种特殊的形式, 是一种有特定意义的“文”。 先秦儒家美学之“美”可以界定为能传达情感或引起情感反应的“文”。