The Development of “Living Aesthetics” in Contemporary China: On the “Turn to Living” in Contemporary Chinese Aesthetics

Abstract

The “turn to living” in contemporary Chinese aesthetics denotes an academic shift that returns aesthetics to living: a new philosophical construction that seeks to bridge, and even integrate, the “lifeworld” and “aesthetic activity.” In effect, the “living aesthetics” constructed in the new century represents an “ontology of living,” thereby realizing the latest ontological shift in contemporary Chinese aesthetics following the “turn to practice” and the “turn to existence.” This “living aesthetics” encapsulates the formation, evolution, and continuation of traditional Chinese living consciousness, conceptions of living, and living pursuits. It manifests the graceful beauty of classical living scenes. At the same time, it signals its origins, trajectory, and possibility for transformation. Accordingly, researchers of Chinese aesthetics should actively engage in contemporary international aesthetic exchanges while returning to indigenous resources to excavate the legacy of classical Chinese living aesthetics.

Keywords

contemporary Chinese aesthetics / living aesthetics / turn to living

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Higher Education Press