Xie Lingyun’s 谢灵运 “Rhapsody on Dwelling in the Mountains” 山居赋 is not only a remarkable literary achievement but also holds significant value in the theoretical discourse on ancient Chinese shanshui 山水 (landscape) aesthetics. It expands the subject object relationship within this aesthetic tradition: Instead of mere contemplation, which became prevalent in the pre-Qin and Han periods, it presents a subject-object relationship that integrates the enjoyment of dwelling and roaming with aesthetic appreciation, reflecting the thoughts on the body-mind relationship and the nature-principle relationship within shanshui aesthetics. The aesthetic distance in the “Rhapsody on Dwelling in the Mountains,” neither too close nor too far, deviates from the rhapsody tradition and the established custom of mountain dwelling. This rhapsody expresses the viewpoint centered on “attaining intention” 意得 and “delighting the heart” 赏心, pioneering a self-fulfilling space 自得之场 transcending and yet grounded in the mundane world, thus influencing the depiction from the subjective spirit in subsequent shanshui aesthetics.
During the Southern Dynasties, shanshui 山水 (landscapes) emerged as an independent aesthetic subject in literary and artistic works. The underlying causes of this phenomenon have been extensively investigated in academic scholarship. This study explores the intrinsic connections between official career pursuit and reclusive withdrawal (chuchu 出处) and the literary discovery of shanshui as aesthetic subjects by investigating the lives of three representative figures of the Xie family of Chen Prefecture: Xie An 谢安 of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xie Lingyun 谢灵运 of the Eastern Jin to Liu-Song transition, and Xie Tiao 谢 眺 of the Qi Dynasty. The findings suggest that: For Xie An, shanshui served not only as sensory pleasure but also as a vehicle to alleviate psychological tensions arising from political struggles. For Xie Lingyun, shanshui provided a space to contemplate metaphysical principles, laying the philosophical foundations for the aesthetic exploration of sensory beauty. Xie Tiao integrated shanshui into daily life through his bureaucratic routines and travels, ultimately transforming nature into a spiritual sanctuary for scholars navigating court politics.
Shanshui 山水 (landscape) poetry of Wang Wei 王维 and Meng Haoran 孟浩然 primarily utilizes five-character lines, while poets like Gao Shi 高适, Cen Shen 岑参, and Wang Changling 王昌龄 seldom employed seven-character lines for shanshui themes. However, Li Bai 李 白, even before the rebellion of An Lushan and Shi Siming, extensively adopted various genres, such as five-character ancient-style poetry 五言古诗, five-character rhythmic poetry 五言律诗, five-character quatrains 五言绝句, seven-character quatrains 七言绝句, and seven-character song verses 七言歌行, to express shanshui themes, achieving significant artistic accomplishments. By examining his shanshui poetry from the perspective of genre, it can be said that Li Bai is the poet of the High Tang period who exerted the most effort, explored the widest range, and innovated the most in the creation of shanshui poetry. Li Bai’s various genres of shanshui poetry each have their unique origins and stylistic features, exhibiting different expressions between inheritance and transformation, as well as between tradition and innovation. Overall, there are two main characteristics: first, a full expression of individuality, and second, an emphasis on the pursuit of musicality, drawing from the unique features of each poetic genre. These two characteristics form the unique identity of Li Bai’s shanshui poetry, distinguishing it from that of other poets of the High Tang period, and they have had a profound influence on the art of shanshui poetry in later generations.
Liu Zongyuan’s 柳宗元 shanshui 山水 (landscape) aesthetic conception possess unique theoretical connotations and historical contributions. He establishes his shanshui aesthetic conception on reshaping the relationship between Heaven and humanity, expressing an ideal of shanshui aesthetics that seeks suchness through valuing supreme balance 尚中求实. Hence, Liu’s shanshui poetry and proses blend joy and sorrow, forming a complex aesthetic form. The historical contribution of Liu Zongyuan’s shanshui aesthetic conception can be summarized in four points: First, he elevates scholar-officials’ subjective consciousness, leading to the rise of aesthetic subjectivity in the mid-Tang period; second, he explores the relationship between “appreciation and exploration (of landscapes)” 观游 and “governing” 理政, further comprehending the connection between shanshui aesthetics and politics; third, he injects new qualities into the aesthetics of the Xiaoxiang 潇湘 landscapes, expanding the aesthetic experience of southern regions of the Yangtze River; fourth, Liu Zongyuan’s shanshui aesthetic conception embodies a cosmic consciousness, deepening the theoretical implications of shanshui aesthetics in the mid-Tang period. Liu Zongyuan holds a crucial position in the transformation of shanshui aesthetic conception during that time.
The depiction of jianghu 江湖 (rivers and lakes) is a significant theme in classical Chinese literature. This term usually refers to the exile places of disgraced officials. However, the Su brothers—Su Shi 苏轼 and Su Zhe 苏辙—deliberately construct jianghu as a poetic space rich in cultural and humanistic landscapes in their writings, embodying a unique perspective among poets of the Song Dynasty. On the one hand, the Su brothers describe jianghu as a poetic realm where fish swim freely, and birds soar up high, a world adorned with beautiful landscapes, historical sites, interpersonal bonds, scholars in seclusion, local customs, and cultural relics. On the other hand, they realize that jianghu, often used by the court to exile convicts, is permeated with power networks extending from the capital, rendering it far from a haven. This paradoxical understanding reflects the Song Dynasty’s political environment and developments in transportation, communication, and commerce. Notably, Su Shi poetically links jianghu with taoyuan 桃源 (land of peach blossom), emphasizing that the waters of jianghu originated from this utopian source. The evolution from taoyuan to jianghu represents the spiritual and cultural extension that runs in the opposite direction of power extension.
The incorporation of landscapes into art signifies a profound transformation in the aesthetic relationship between human and nature, shifting the focus of human aesthetic appreciation from the utilitarian realm to the non-utilitarian realm, from humans and animals to plants and landscapes. This represents a revolutionary moment of decisive significance in the history of human aesthetics. The emergence of landscape art does not merely signify a significant transformation in aesthetic objects and artistic themes. More importantly, the appreciation of natural landscapes marks a new stage in human aesthetic activities—an aesthetic consciousness of nature. Both the Wei-Jin period in China and the Renaissance in Europe contributed to the creation of landscape culture, with Chinese landscape culture giving birth to shanshui 山水 (landscape) aesthetics. However, the concept of shanshui in Chinese differs from the European notion of landscape. The ethicalization of aesthetic appreciation of nature in China helps shape the bland and plain national characteristics of Chinese shanshui aesthetics, providing a paradise for the poetic dwelling of the soul and becoming the fundamental development direction of Chinese shanshui aesthetics. The shanshui aesthetics developed in China prior to the Western cultures stands as the most ethnically distinctive aesthetic heritage, holding cross-temporal significance in global aesthetics.