research-article

The Significance of Xuwu 虚无 (Nothingness) in Chinese Aesthetics

  • FAN Minghua
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  • School of Philosophy, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

Published date: 05 Dec 2010

Copyright

2014 Higher Education Press and Brill

Abstract

Just as nothingness is a fundamental concept in Daoist philosophy, it is also a fundamental concept in Chinese aesthetics, where it has multiple meanings: First, nothingness, as a reaction against unaesthetic psychical activity, is a primary precondition of aesthetic and artistic activity. Second, as the void or intangible “stuff” juxtaposed to “substance,” it is an indispensable compositional property of artworks as well as an essential condition for the manifestation of an artistic form. Finally, as a reaction against the unaesthetic world of daily life—the experiential world—nothingness is the fundamental basis and essential provision for establishing an artistic world.

Cite this article

FAN Minghua . The Significance of Xuwu 虚无 (Nothingness) in Chinese Aesthetics[J]. Frontiers of Philosophy in China, 2010 , 5(4) : 560 -574 . DOI: 10.1007/s11466-010-0115-1

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