PHILOSOPHY OF BEAUTY In Chinese Philosophy Prof Lu

PHILOSOPHY OF BEAUTY In Chinese Philosophy Prof. Lu Yang

Outlines： ◦ Back to Nature ◦ Beauty in Confucianism ◦ A Comparison with Plato ◦ The Conditions of Beauty

1. Back to Nature ◦ 《老子》(Laozi, around 571 -471 B. C. ) 老子出关

◦ Laozi. （571 -471 B. C. ？）The founder of Chinese transcendentalism. Although a legendary figure, he is usually dated to around the 6 th century B. C and reckoned a contemporary of Confucius. 2 dozens years elder than the latter. ◦ Back to nature is the core spirit of Chinese Daosim. For “Daoism, ” it refers to both a philosophical tradition which we call Daojia（道家）and an organized religion, that is Daojiao (道教）. Both are romantic in their own way. ◦ 道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。 ◦ (The Dao that can be trodden, is not the constant Dao; the name that can be named, is not the constant name. ) ◦ Dao is both the Way, or the Logos, the Word.

◦ 人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。 ◦ (Man takes its law from the earth; the earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Dao; the law of Dao is its being what it is. ) ◦ 大音希声，大象无形。道隐无名。 ◦ (The greatest sound is soundless; the greatest image is shapeless. The Tao is hidden, and has no name. ) ◦ John Cage, “ 4 minutes and 33 seconds” ◦ Heaven vs. Nature ◦ Dao (or Tao) as the source and final end of all existence, immensely powerful yet supremely humble. For Laozi, many people act “unnaturally”, upsetting the natural balance of the Dao. Therefore, man “return” to their natural state, in harmony with Dao.

◦ 《庄子》(Zhuangzi, 369 -286 B. C. )

◦ Zhuangzi expresses a philosophy skeptical, arguing that life is limited and knowledge to be gained is unlimited. So the meaning of life is to use the limited to pursue the unlimited. But also, back to nature.

◦ 昔者庄周梦为胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也。自喻适志与！不知 周也。俄然觉，则蘧蘧然周也。不知周之梦为胡蝶与？ 胡蝶之梦为周与？周与胡蝶则必有分矣。此之谓物化。( 《齐物论》） ◦ Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi. Between Zhuangzi and a butterfly there must be some distinction. This is called the Transformation of Things. – “On making all things equal”

◦ Now Heaven and Earth was much thought of great, and Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun, all of them admired it as most beautiful. Hence the kings of the Ancient world did nothing, but tried to imitate Heaven and Earth. ◦ 夫天地者，古之所大也，而黄帝尧舜之所共美也。故古 之王天下者，奚为哉？天地而已矣。——《天道》

Huangdi黄帝 舜 Yao尧 Shun

◦ For the operations of Heaven and Earth proceed in the most beautiful way yet saying nothing about themselves. ◦ The sages trace out the beautiful operations of Heaven and Earth to understand the distinctive constitutions of all things. Thus great sage do nothing artificial but following the way of Nature, the Heaven and Earth. ◦ 天地有大美而不言，四时有明法而不议，万物有成理而不说。 圣人者，原天地之美而达万物之理。是故圣人无为，大圣不 作，观于天地之谓也。（《知北游》）

The Ruler of the Southern Ocean was Shu, the Ruler of the Northern Ocean was Hu, and the Ruler of the Centre was Chaos. Shu and Hu were continually meeting in the land of Chaos, who treated them very well. They consulted together how they might repay his kindness, and said, 'Men all have seven orifices for the purpose of seeing, hearing, eating, and breathing, while this (poor) Ruler alone has not one. Let us try and make them for him. ' Accordingly they dug one orifice in him every day; and at the end of seven days Chaos died. 南海之帝为儵，北海之帝为忽，中央之帝为浑沌。儵与忽时相 与遇于浑沌之地，浑沌待之甚善。儵与忽谋报浑沌之德，曰：“ 人皆有七窍以视听食息此独无有，尝试凿之。”日凿一窍，七 日而浑沌死。 （《应帝王》）

A probable Image of Hundun(Chaos)

2. Beauty in Confucianism Confucius, 551 -479 B. C. , the founder of the Confucianism, his teachings, preserved in 《论语》 Lunyu or Analects, form the foundation of much of subsequent Chinese speculation on how to be a perfect man.

修身 齐家 治国 平天下 子曰：“里仁为美。择不处仁，焉得知？”（《里仁》） Beauty is to constitute the neighborhood of Ren, If a man in selecting a residence do not fix on Ren, how can he be wise? " 子谓韶，“尽美矣，又尽善也。”谓武，“尽美矣，未尽善也。”（《八 佾》） The Master said of the Shao that it was perfectly beautiful and also perfectly good. He said of the Wu that it was perfectly beautiful but not perfectly good.

子曰：“智者乐水，仁者乐山；智者动，仁者静；智者 乐，仁者寿。”（《雍也》） The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived.

曰：“莫春者，春服既成，冠者五六人，童子六七人，浴乎沂， 风乎舞雩，咏而归。” 夫子喟然叹曰：“吾与点也。”（《先进》） Zen Xi then said, “In this, the late spring, with the dress of the season all complete, along with five or six young men who have assumed the cap, and six or seven boys, I would wash in river of Yi, enjoy the breeze among the rain altars, and return home singing. " The Master heaved a sigh and said, "I give my approval to Dian.

Finally, Confucius found consolation from the Nature. Compare with Joseph Addison: True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to pomp and noise; it arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self, and in the next from the friendship and conversation of a few selected companions. —— The Spectator, March 17, 1711 Beauty is a tranquil inner happiness corresponding to natural rythm.

3. Compare with Plato Symposium: Finally the vision may be revealed to him of a single science which is the science of beauty everywhere. But this can only come after patient instruction and much hard study of exact science when suddenly like a blaze kindled by a leaping spark. It is generated in the soul and at once becomes self -sustaining

Then at last man will behold beauty with the eye of the mind and will be able to bring forth not mere image of what is good for man but realities. Would that be an ignoble life Socrates?

◦ Thomas Aquinas：Summa Theologica ◦ First Part ◦ Question I ◦ The Nature and Extent of Sacred Doctrine ◦ (In Ten Article) ◦ To Place our purpose within proper limits, we first endeavour to investigate the nature and extent of this sacred doctrine. Concerning this there are ten points of inquiry:

Three conditions of beauty: ◦ For beauty includes three conditions, "integrity" or "perfection, " since those things which are impaired are by the very fact ugly; second, "proportion" or "harmony"; and lastly, "brightness" or "clarity, " whence things are called beautiful which have a bright color. ◦ — Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part I, Question 39, article 8.

The first of these has a likeness to the property of the Son, inasmuch as He as Son has in Himself truly and perfectly the nature of the Father. The second agrees with the Son's property, inasmuch as He is the express image of the Father. Hence we see that an image is said to be beautiful, if it perfectly represents even an ugly thing. The third agrees with the property of the Son, as the Word, which is the light and splendor of the intellect, as Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii, 3). Augustine alludes to the same when he says (De Trin. vi, 10): "As the perfect Word, not wanting in anything, and, so to speak, the art of the omnipotent God, " etc.

We come back to Laozi: ◦The Word can be worded, is not the constant Word. ◦ That is the philosophy of beauty, either in Chinese or Western cultures.