Chinese Aesthetics

序
蔣三石

「谷神」一名的援引，除了因為石上水墨是以谿谷中石為桌，以及對老子第六章的思考，同時，也是 我一直秉持「萬物有靈」的態度：認為在自然中的存在， 與我是共振交感的共在關係。 作品從 2021 初見端倪、2022 始見雛形、2023 出現聯屏到 2024 聚焦任運，實為一個創作風格自然演變的過程。雖 然還是在蘭溪畫、也還是在畫蘭溪，但是，當曾瞥見那只可意會的神妙之後，筆下的表達就不會再一 樣。所以，系列的跨度涵蓋四年，選取在氛圍上有所連貫、或有近似之形式特徵的作品，以展現谷神 的無常萬相及無所拘執。以系列稱之，是為方便分辨，實則每個系列的產生都有其交疊處，更有其內 在必然性。

「谷神」的產生，始於對谿谷中光氣交通的讚歎。望之日久，手中之筆，亦不住隨之盪來晃去。如何 以筆墨轉譯所見所感？筆，是身；墨，是韻。身體帶動氣場，在全白之境寓留足跡。可以是窸窸窣窣 的斑斕、可以是拔地蒸騰的迷離，忽然飄渺至遠處一餘音，或許便沉沉化作一石安靜。與谷神的往來， 只能神會，於其一顰一笑；張張白紙，則是曾經不識的記憶。

這「系列」，是以線條用筆為主軸。揣摩在谿谷之心身經歷，何能於筆下流轉任運？一筆，不為描摹 對象，而皆有靈有感之存在，是每個當下的真實。也許變幻無常，也許生澀難辨，如同心境思緒，亦 是隨風順水不斷流轉……轉出兒時童心、轉出天地運則、更轉出對諸相非相之感悟。

Schlucht-Geist Vorwort
JIANG Sanshi

Den Namen „Schlucht-Geist“ habe ich nicht nur gewählt, weil ich seit langem einen Stein in der Schlucht des Orchideenbaches als Maltisch verwende, oder weil ich an das sechste Kapitel des daoistischen Klassikers Laozi gedacht habe, das mit den Zeichen für „Schlucht-Geist“ beginnt, sondern auch weil mir eine Haltung gut vertraut ist, die davon ausgeht, dass „die zehntausend Dinge beseelt sind“: weil ich alles Sein in der Natur als ein Verhältnis des Mitseins erfahre, das von Verschränkung und Resonanz geprägt ist.

Erste Keime für die Arbeit an der Serie „Schlucht-Geist“ zeigten sich 2021. 2022 begannen sie sich zu entfalten und entwickelten sich dann 2023 in Richtung der Form des Diptychons, auf die ich mich 2024 konzentriert habe. Das war für mich die natürliche Entwicklung eines neuen Malstils. Obwohl ich weiterhin am Orchideenbach male und er nach wie vor von mir gemalt wird, hat sich die Art der Pinselführung doch tiefgreifend verändert, nachdem sich mir dort eine wundersame Geistigkeit eröffnet hat. Für diesen Band habe ich Werke aus den vergangenen vier Jahren ausgewählt, die einerseits von einer gewissen Kontinuität und stilistischen Ähnlichkeit zeugen, andererseits aber auch die Unbeständigkeit und Ungebundenheit des „Schlucht-Geistes“ offenbaren. Der Einfachheit halber spreche ich von einer Serie, obwohl sich unvermeidlich Überschneidungen mit anderen Serien oder Werkphasen ergeben.

Die Serie „Schlucht-Geist“ entsprang aus der Begeisterung für die kommunikative Verschränkung von Licht und Atem/qì/ 氣 in der Schlucht. Nachdem ich diese lange betrachtet hatte, konnte der Pinsel in meiner Hand nicht anders als diese Bewegung aufzunehmen und mitzuschwingen. Wie lässt sich das, was ich in der Schlucht sehe und fühle durch Tusche und Pinsel übersetzen? Der Pinsel ist Körper und die Tusche ist Rhythmus. Der Körper versetzt mein Atemfeld in Bewegung, um in der Gegend des weißen Papiers die Spuren des Schlucht-Geistes zu hinterlassen. Dieser kann das Flimmern und Kreisen des Lichts auf dem Papier sein, oder feiner Wasserdunst, der dampfend von der Erde aufsteigt, oder ein plötzlich in der Ferne nachklingender Vogelruf, oder ein Herabsinken, das sich in die ruhige Stille eines Steins verwandelt. Das Kommen und Gehen im Verhältnis zum Schlucht-Geist ist eine geistige Begegnung, die mich anspricht und freudig zum Lächeln bringt. Die zu Bildern gewordenen weißen Papierblätter sind Erinnerungen an etwas, was mit mir geschehen ist, aber während des Malens keineswegs deutlich erkennbar war.

Diese Serie kreist um Linien und Striche, die aus einem wundersamen Gebrauch des Pinsels hervorgegangen sind. Ich habe mich gefragt, wie ich die in der Schlucht erfahrenen Gedanken und Gefühle in frei fließende und sich vielfach wendende Pinselbewegungen verwandeln kann. Denn ein jeder Strich ist nicht die Darstellung oder Nachahmung eines Gegenstandes, sondern ist selber ein Sein mit Seele und Gefühl, ist die Wirklichkeit eines jeden Augenblicks. Die Striche und Linien sind zuweilen in unvorhersehbarer Veränderung begriffen, zuweilen fremd, schroff und unverständlich, wie ja auch Gemütszustände und Gedanken sich fortlaufend kehren und wenden wie Wind und Wasser. Dabei mögen sie ein kindliches Herz hervorkehren, oder Bewegungsgesetze von Himmel und Erde, oder Besinnung und Gespür dafür, dass alle Bilder Nicht-Bilder sind.

Übersetzung: Fabian Heubel

L'article présente l'exploitation -dans le cadre d'une problématique de géographie sociale -de la méthode dite « idéale-typique » initiée par Max Weber. Les recherches ont porté sur l'analyse de la diffusion socio-spatiale des pratiques corporelles et plus particulièrement sur celle du karaté à travers le monde. De cette question a émergé une problématique axée sur l'examen du rapport d'interaction entre processus socio-

This paper in on the aesthetics of West Lake, which is  located in Hangzhou, China. It is forthcoming in “Research on Marxist Aesthetics,” edited by Wang Jie, who is Qiushi Distinguished Professor and Yangtze River Scholar at the College of Media and International Culture of Zhejiang University. West Lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its representation of Chinese landscape aesthetics. The paper is an inspired personal reflection on the intersection of aesthetical  thinking in Kant and Nietzsche, (focusing primarily on  Nietzsche’s mature works, Thus Spoke Zarathustra Part II, “On Those Who are Sublime”) and a contribution to that well-established literature, in which I use Karl Jaspers’ idea of Existenzerhellung to characterize Nietzsche’s understanding of a future “Dionysian Age” of Art (in Ecce Homo, Why I Write Such Good Books, ‘The Birth of Tragedy,’ § 4) as a Philosophical Faith in cyclical evolution  of will to power by its own agency and himself in his role in that process.  The manifestation of will to power, in his view, warrants the judgment of the artwork as being beautiful as revealing the purpose of eines Mehr an Leben  but now as the Dionysian Überheld at rest, overcoming himself in his resting,  from the heroic search for knowledge.

Guan's (2024) main body is the thought of "aesthetic conceptions" in ancient China. This idea has been defined for a long time. It is one of the most important categories that constitutes Chinese classical aesthetics and it is also one of the raw materials that exerts the greatest value in the modern intersection of Chinese and Western aesthetics.

Architectural and aesthetic features of traditional Chinese architecture have been quite often demarcated by the influence of three branches of Chinese philosophical thought—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. However, in this short paper it couldn’t include such an extensive scope. Therefore, the focus on one of three branches is necessary. First of all, in Section I of this paper, it attempts to introduce the design of traditional Chinese corridor functioning for connecting architecture and outdoor space. By this way, the meaning of “being” (you) and “non-being” (wu) of the Pre-Qin dynasty would be the central theme of the exploration. Secondly, in Section II, it intends to deeply investigate this pair of terms by the framework of a new term “Daoiast naturalism based on humanity” to contrast with another one “Western humanism based on God.” Section II mainly focuses on the analysis of the former in terms of Daoist metaphysics. Secion III begins with the exploration of main features of western humanism from the ancient Graeco-Roman tradition to Renaissance not inclusive of the Enlightenment, the modern time and the present. In Section IV, it chooses one of the greatest architect Brunelleschi’s masterpiece— Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore as the representative of Renaissance Italy to embody the harmonious, moderate combination of human creativity and the spirit of Christianity. Last but not least, in Conclusion it points out the supervenien relation between the western humanism and Daoist naturalism may renew the vision of lifeworld in which western and eastern cultures are merged into together.

Architectural and aesthetic features of traditional Chinese architecture have been quite often demarcated by the influence of three branches of Chinese philosophical thought—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. However, in this short paper it couldn’t include such an extensive scope. Therefore, the focus on one of three branches is necessary. First of all, in Section I of this paper, it attempts to introduce the design of traditional Chinese corridor functioning for connecting architecture and outdoor space. By this way, the meaning of “being” (you) and “non-being” (wu) of the Pre-Qin dynasty would be the central theme of the exploration. Secondly, in Section II, it intends to deeply investigate this pair of terms by the framework of a new term “Daoiast naturalism based on humanity” to contrast with another one “Western humanism based on God.” Section II mainly focuses on the analysis of the former in terms of Daoist metaphysics. Secion III begins with the exploration of main features of western humanism from the ancient Graeco-Roman tradition to Renaissance not inclusive of the Enlightenment, the modern time and the present. In Section IV, it chooses one of the greatest architect Brunelleschi’s masterpiece— Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore as the representative of Renaissance Italy to embody the harmonious, moderate combination of human creativity and the spirit of Christianity. Last but not least, in Conclusion it points out the supervenien relation between the western humanism and Daoist naturalism may renew the vision of lifeworld in which western and eastern cultures are merged into together.

In the Chinese cultural context, music is deeply intertwined with the human heart and plays a central role in both healing and governance. Guqin, an ancient Chinese zither, exemplifies holistic care throughout history, embodying heart-based empathy and resonance. This study draws on insights from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), classic philosophy, literature, and aesthetics to trace a lineage of thinking that continues to inform contemporary music therapy. We examine the Chinese notion of xin/heart and the interdependent self, and how music facilitates individuals’ aesthetic attunement toward the natural and social orders. Our approach transcends limitations of Euro-American psychological paradigms centered on the psyche, by adopting a holistic perspective that emphasizes the interconnectedness of the heart, the body, and the cosmos. We argue for the necessity of moving beyond reductive biomedical treatment models to explore alternative ways of living and alternative care that highlight relational, moral, and aesthetic approaches to well-being.

Estudio de la recepción de la estética del jardín chino por parte de la estética inglesa ilustrada. Se sostendrá que dicha recepción estuvo mediada por los debates internos del momento entre estética y teoría política en el contexto británico y europeo, por extensión.

With/out and Use/Uselessness in Chinese Aesthetics
Workshop with Fabian Heubel. Respondent Marita Tatari
7th-9th October 2024, 15:00-18:00
University of Patras, University Campus, Rio, Greece Building II, Philosophy

Seminar by Fabian Heubel: Comparative Philosophy and Beyond
1. Being Between: Comparative and Transcultural Philosophy
Thursday, 10 October 2024, 10-12am
2. Critical Reflections on the "Chinese-Greek Mirroring of Civilizations/中西文明互鑒"
Friday, 11 October 2024, 4-6pm
Department of Philosophy, University of Patras, University Campus, Rio, Greece Building B, Ground Floor

This paper explores the relationship between Chinese photography and traditional landscape painting, emphasizing their shared theoretical and technical foundations.

Early Chinese photographers, such as Lai Afong (黎芳; c. 1838 or 1839 – 1890), preserved the lyrical essence of Literati painting (wenren hua 文人画) while incorporating foreign influences. By the 20th century, Pictorial Photography (huayi sheying 画意摄影) achieved a synthesis between Chinese ink painting and photography. Lang Jingshan (郎静山, 1892-1995), a seminal figure, produced composite photographs that embodied the core principles of traditional art, particularly the harmonious relationship between humanity and nature.

Chinese photography, reflecting the spatial and compositional techniques of ink painting, evolved into a medium that both inherited and reinterpreted traditional aesthetic values. In its connection to Chinese landscape painting, photography emerged as a "new" artistic form, honoring tradition while establishing its own identity.

This issue of Technoetic Arts encompasses eight articles by artists and scholars from around the globe who engage with methodologies of art practice within research that reflects on technological and ecological change, contributing to the discourse on the inclusion of subjective experience in research. The articles by authors Dulmini Perera, Kate Doyle, Nora S. Vaage, Merete Lie, Nikita Peresin Meden, Kristina Pranjić, Peter Purg, Nicolaas H. Jacobs, Marth Munro, Chris Broodryk, Semi Ryu, Rahul Mahata, Doreswamy, Sana Altaf and Aqib Javid Parry form a collection that crosses disciplines and genres to engage in fundamental critique of existing modes of enquiry and conclusion. The texts situate art and design methodologies in particular cultural contexts and in relation to frameworks defined by research methodologies of the sciences and humanities to gain agency for critique and to counter a sense of inevitability that has come to mark the most recent crises.

This article explores how the English language has (partially) accommodated the culture of Chinese calligraphy since the twentieth century. The notion of cultural translation is used and substantiated as the theoretical and explanative framework of this study. Translators have employed two strategies to make the culture of Chinese calligraphy translatable, namely, the reconstruction of this culture and recourse to visual means of
representation. The methods of re-organizing Chinese calligraphic culture in the Anglo-American context show that the approaches to Western art are used, and cultural dilution occurs to varying degrees. In addition, the conjunction of pictures and texts helps expose the meanings embedded in Chinese calligraphy, and functions as a means of conveying cultural messages. The practice of cultural translation emancipates the expressive power of the English language and offers a newly woven context that
guarantees cross-cultural understanding of foreignness.

Chinese calligraphy, which distinctively represents traditional Chinese culture, contains many culture-specific aesthetic terms that pose a translation challenge requiring creative cross-cultural strategies. This study presents several English translations for four key Chinese aesthetic terms on calligraphy, namely shi 勢 (roughly translated as "vital force" or "energy"), yun 韻 (once translated as "rhythmic life" or "life movement"), fei bai 飛白 ("flying white" or "hollow strokes") and jibai-danghei 計白當黑 (literally: treating white areas like black ink). It examines their effectiveness in facilitating cross-cultural understanding and maximizing cultural authenticity. This article points out that most of these terms have been adequately contextualized in English over the past century, even though some are rendered in English using terms borrowed from Western art history. This shows how cultural translation, the theoretical basis of this study, comes into play when dealing with Chinese aesthetic terms in calligraphy.

One of the best known painters of the 20th century, Qi Baishi came from a poor family and owed his education to scholars who had recognized his talent and determination. This article tries to answer the question of how much of the literati (wenren) tradition can be traced in Qi Baishi’s works. Although they only form a small portion of his oeuvre, he made paintings which correspond to the literati topics; whether they also comply with the literati aesthetics is more ambiguous, however. Six paintings from the collection of the National Gallery in Prague were selected and analyzed in search of the answer.

Ignaz Sichelbarth (Chinese name Ai Qimeng), a missionary and court painter in Peking, arrived there in 1745 to assist G. Castiglione and J-D. Attiret. Sichelbarth continued Castiglione’s mode, and despite a lesser artistic capability, was granted comparable honors by the emperor. His personal history remains considerably obscure, as no letters by him survive. The scarce data known about him come from the Jesuit documentation, letters written by his fellow missionaries, and from the archives of Imperial Workshop Bureau (Zaobanchu).
This article reiterates Sichelbarth’s oeuvre, divided into groups based on genre (auspicious pictures, portraits, military campaigns, tribute horses, thangkas, interior decorations), and relates them to their historic background. In conclusion, it raises questions concerning the relation of art and the state in eighteenth century China.

Bi (2023) primarily examines Gary Snyder's poems through the lens of Chinese culture, aiming to highlight the ideological depth that connects his work with Chinese cultural influences. Deeply influenced by Zen thought, Snyder's creation is rooted in his profound study and practice of Zen Buddhism, which forms the ideological foundation for his creative process and artistic thinking. This influence is notably apparent in his early translations of Cold Mountain Poems. Zen philosophy emphasizes achieving a state of "no-self " and "emptiness," where the "heart" gives rise to the "law," and the "heart" creates the "environment." However, the essence of the heart is emptiness, rendering all worldly phenomena illusory and unreal. Therefore, the external world perceived by the "heart" is both existent and non-existent, and "non-existence" is its essence while "existence" is its illusion. All things and phenomena

In this presentation, I will try to outline an aesthetics of resistance inspired by Jī Kāng and his writings. It is an aesthetics of resistance that responds to painful, or even traumatic experiences by way of aesthetic cultivation in and through nature. This cultivation is not (necessarily) an escape from social and political difficulties, rather the healing power of nature can enable human beings to critically respond to social and political challenges.
The cultivation of blandness reveals a paradoxical ideal of being human: in the hardly perceptible and inconspicuous, a capacity for resistance is nurtured that is capable of turning against existing and predominant power relations if circumstances require it.

Bifaji 筆法記 by Jing Hao 荊浩 (ca. 855–915) is one of the most critical writings on painting in the Chinese art tradition. It reflects the shifting artistic trends of the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods from portraits to landscapes and from color to ink and wash. The emphasis on zhen (眞, “genuineness”) as an aesthetic goal in Bifaji is an essential feature in its discourse on the nature of painting. This essay explores the concept of zhen as an ideal state of pictorial reality in Bifaji. Illuminating the meaning of zhen is vital to understanding Jing Hao's and his contemporaries' artistic aspirations. Considering its aesthetic connotations reveals zhen in Bifaji to be multivalent, involving a number of qualities required for the creation of a landscape painting, from the observation of nature to the method of brush technique. To elucidate the aesthetic ideals of Bifaji, this paper examines the relationship between the concept of zhen and other key terms such as qiyun (氣韻, “...

The ravine (gǔ 谷) in Lǎozǐ 6 is an image in which the hard stone of rocks or mountain cliffs and the soft water flowing through them belong together.
It is connected to the “female”. But the ravine as a paradoxical image goes beyond the “female”. It is an image of the “Way” (dào/道).

Where are the modernizers who believe in a Daoist approach to aesthetic cultivation, in Lǎozǐ’s education to softness and weakness?
Where are the modernizers who know about the hard but are able to preserve the soft (知剛守柔)?
Where are the trans-modern thinkers who are able to philosophize not only with the rational hammer but also with the breathing brush?

Critical terms in Chinese poetics pose difficulties to those who expect clear definitions and scopes of reference since many such words are not "properly" defined in their first appearances. To make matters worse, they gain new meanings when they are used and reused in different contexts. By tracing the origins and the further resonances of feng in Chinese poetics, this essay demonstrates the discrepancy between the varied meanings of the word in Chinese and those in the English translations.This essay argues that one should not use their preconceptions to judge other literatures and cultures but to respect this "otherness" by probing the other intellectual traditions to find out their particularities.

Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism is a welcome addition to the growing number of studies in the field that readdress long-held assumptions about the "essential" nature of Buddhism, and its relation to Chinese culture. The book's contents are divided into an introduction and two parts. The introduction, "Prolegomenon to the Study of Medieval Chinese Buddhist Literature" (pp. -), addresses problems associated with the modern study of Chinese Buddhism in an attempt to avoid faulty assumptions and place the discipline on a sounder theoretical footing. Part , "The Historical and Cosmological Background," is divided into two chapters, "The Date and Provenance of the Treasure Store Treatise" (pp. -) and "Chinese Buddhism and the Cosmology of Sympathetic Resonance" (pp. -). Part , "Annotated Translation of the Treasure Store Treatise," is divided into an "Introduction to the Translation" (pp. -) and the three chapters of the Treasure Store Treatise text: "Chapter One: The Broad Illumination of Emptiness and Being" (pp.

Jing Hao’s Bifa Ji (Notes on Brushwork) applies the principle of qiyun (氣韻 rhythmic vitality) to the painting of natural scenery. The usefulness of this text about shanshui (山水) aesthetics for contemporary artists and designers is an open question in China today. For Jing Hao, a painting exhibits qiyun by displaying an image that is authentic (眞 zhen), and an authentic image is alive and true to the vitality of nature after the artist passes qi (氣 spirit) through zhi (質 substance). The image manifesting qi and zhi differs from all images that represent nature in terms of human perceptual experience of forms, patterns, objects, motions or material processes. To uphold Jing Hao’s aesthetic for artists and audiences today, I offer a comparative aesthetics that translates zhi in terms of Merleau-Ponty’s language for the first-dimension of the “surface of the visible” beheld by the painter. To build a case for translating Jing Hao’s shanshui aesthetics in this way, I consider accounts th...

In the framework of “three kinds of forms”, the main expressions of “metaphysical form”, in Tao Te Ching, focus on two pairs of concepts: Tao and Te, Wu and You. The final purpose of “form” based on these concepts is “actionless activity”(wu wei), which not only determines a series of understandings of life, including “return to the root”(gui gen), “submission to Fate”(fu ming) and “Void and Quietness” (xu jing), but also provides the cyclic cosmology and critical thinking of “self-negation”, for “cultivation of self”(cheng ji) through “one”(yi) as the ideal model. Speaking of “artistic form”, Lao Tzu contends that we should apply the “cultivation of things”(cheng wu) of “all things are done through themselves”(wu zi hua) and argument way of “self-negation” to reflect the relationship between art and life, which could offer the illuminating insights into the art ontology and creative ideas in the materialization context.

The questions that interest me can be summarized thus: In what way do we benefit from speaking of things indirectly? How does such a distancing allow us better to discover-and describe-people and objects? How does distancing produce an effect? Westerners find it natural and normal to meet the world head-on. But what can we gain from approaching it obliquely? In other words, how does detour grant access? My starting point, in short, has to do with the subtlety of meaning.

This workshop will explore the transdisciplinary and transcultural potential of breath and atmosphere for aesthetic theory and practice. Breath and atmosphere are the English terms through which we seek to connect with the meanings of 氣/qi/ki in Chinese and Japanese literature and philosophy.
The breath runs through all aspects of perception, precedes or accompanies all physical and spiritual awareness. Through the act of breathing we touch the world and are touched by it. Expressions such as 'I breathe, therefore l am" or "philosophy dies without air" attempt to transcend the prevailing "hegemony of the gaze and the eye“ （as articulated by Luce Irigaray) over alternative faculties of perception.
If both atmospheres and bodies are changing modes of „breath," then it becomes evident that "breath" is both material and spiritual, external and internal, objective and subjective. Within contemporary philosophy, Martin Heidegger, Hermann Schmitz, Gernot Bohme, and Luce Irigaray, among others, have already opened a conversation with Eastern philosophies and cultures that fundamentally challenges conventional European views of human life and the world. Developing an aesthetic "learning of qi/ki"（氣學） with reference to breath and atmosphere is an attempt to unfold the transdisciplinary and transcultural potential of these earlier explorations in aesthetic theory and practice.

'i and the East-West Center hosted the 11th East-West Philosophers' Conference at the end of May, 2016. More that 300 philosophers from over 40 countries committed a week of philosophical discourse to the protean theme of the conference, ''Place.'' The ten essays contained in this Special Issue were carefully selected by the Publication Committee to represent one prominent philosophical perspective represented at the conference, the Confucian tradition. By way of background and context, for more than three-quarters of a century, the East-West Philosophers' Conference series has hosted a dialogue among some of the world's most prominent philosophers of their time. The dialogue began in 1939 when three University of Hawai'i visionaries-Professors Charles A. Moore, Wingtsit Chan, and Gregg Sinclair-initiated the first East-West Philosophers' Conference in Honolulu. Its aim was to explore the significance of Eastern ways of thinking as a complement to Western thought, and to distill a possible synthesis of the ideas and ideals that are aspired to in these unique traditions. Comparative philosophy has evolved from this earliest idea to pursue a mutual respect and accommodation among the world's cultures, with conferences continuing to be held

This paper is a literature review and exploration of early Human Rights in Eastern Cultures, focusing specifically on the philosophy of Confucianism. It includes an historical overview of Confucian China and development of Human Rights in the West, the roles of individual and collectivistic views of rights, and egalitarianism vs. more socially stratified view of society in relation to human rights. This paper was written for the capstone of my Independent Course Study in Philosophy in 2013.

Over the past eight years, we have jointly taught a series of courses comparing Chinese and European political philosophy. These courses have convinced us that teaching comparative political philosophy is a way of doing two eminently desirable-but seemingly incompatible-things at once: broadening the college curriculum by teaching texts from outside the Western tradition, and carrying out the historical job of liberal education by teaching students to become critical and articulate readers of interpretable texts. In our experience, there is no necessary incompatibility between liberal education and internationalizing the curriculum. To the contrary, we believe that at present neither of them will flourish without the other. We think that friends of the "great books" and friends of "multiculturalism" can and should share an extensive common ground, a ground we try to clarify here by making some proposals about the character of liberal education and by discussing ways in which teaching comparative political philosophy has helped us put these proposals into practice.

Perspektiven auf die Guqin Musik - 古琴雅集
Di. 13.02.24
Lilia's Grüner Salon in Kreuzberg/Mitte

"Die Guqin古琴 (chinesische Griffbrettzither) nimmt eine besondere Stellung in der chinesischen Musik ein. Schon früh mit der Bildungselite assoziiert, entwickelte sie eine eigene musikalische Sprache und Ästhetik.
An diesem Abend werden traditionelle Stücke vorgetragen und ausgehend von eigener Erfahrung und klassischen Texten zur Qinästhetik über die Bedeutung der Qinmusik damals und heute diskutiert."
Es spielen:
Lilia Keller
Yang, Linchi
Fabian Heubel
Wolfgang Schwabe

Spende: 10€

Ort:
Lilia's Grüner Salon
Feilnerstr. 10
10969 Berlin
klingeln bei Keller, 1OG

This chapter belongs to a  collection of contributions, Language and Emotion. Volume 3,  edited by Gesine Lenore Schiewer, Jeanette Altarriba, Bee Chin Ng. It  elucidates the diverse intellectual background in China, introduces fundamental concepts, delineates specific phenomena and categories, and references relevant literary works. Part 1 addresses basic notions, while parts 2 and 3 provide an overview of the moral and philosophical exploration of emotions (in a broad sense encompassing the emotional sphere and states of mind) and their impact on literary production and criticism. Part 4 delves into distinctive features related to the depiction of love and anger in literary works. The final section is dedicated to aesthetic theories concerning the elicitation of emotions in relation to scenery and their poetic expression.
Language, in conjunction with iconographic materials, serves as the most reliable testament to the constructed reality of a given society, its thoughts, beliefs, and psychology. Textual analysis plays a crucial role in facilitating an interdisciplinary reexamination of documents. By concentrating on the representation of emotions, it becomes a valuable tool for uncovering the affective codes embedded in language. These codes not only reflect the universality of human experiences but also encapsulate the specificity of each culture.
For instance, a discernible mental structure emerges from textual analysis in late imperial China, encompassing the orthodox evaluation of the affective sphere as well as the diverse perspectives within counterculture circles. Consequently, the mental structure revealed through textual analysis provides insights into the perception of the self, the system of moral emotions and values, belief systems, collective imagery, memories, and symbols.

Shakespeare identifies a paradox here in Othello that both St. Paul and early Chinese philosophers also recognize: namely, that the presence of "honor," or virtue, may be hidden, or veiled. This essay is an exposition of Paul's account of Christian wisdom in Chapters 1 and 2 of 1 Corinthians, and a comparative analysis of interpretations of wisdom in Confucian, Mohist, and Daoist thought. In both Pauline and Chinese traditions this sense of paradoxical hidden-ness is employed to present varying accounts of the nature and content of wisdom. The study of Paul and Chinese wisdom traditions might be thought to contain few points of convergence and many points of contrast. As I hope to show, however, significant convergences exist in relation to paradox, methodology, epistemology, and limitations of human knowledge, or intelligence, as the source of virtuous wisdom. In Shakespearean terms, the "hidden" quality of wisdom is "oft" found in those not reckoned to possess it. The theatrical "fool" says, sees, and does what the wise and powerful do not, or cannot. Paul and the Chinese wisdom traditions contain salutary warnings for our profession as a reliable guide to the high calling of "wisdom." Yin Wenzi states, "An old saying goes like this: 'Not knowing is compatible with being a gentleman. Knowledge does not make someone any less a small man.' " 2 Or, as Laozi declared, "To know yet to think that one does not know is best" (Dao de jing 71 3). Paul's pungent critique of Hellenistic philosophizing and contemporary Judaistic moralizing in 1 Corinthians does not fundamentally contradict this Chinese perspective. We begin our conversation with Paul and then listen for resonances in classical Chinese wisdom literature. We do not propose Paul, of CHRISTOPHER D. HANCOCK, director, The Centre for the Study of Christianity in China, Oxford, UK. Specialities: systematic theology, historical theology, and Sino-Christian studies.

The postponement of equality is not only a recurring topic in Jacques Rancière's writings, but also the most defining feature of modern Chinese aesthetics. Particularly in the period after 1980's, when the country opened its doors to Western ideas, Chinese aesthetics extensively played a subordinate role in an imbalanced knowledge transfer, in which structural inequality was only reinforced. Aesthetics in China plays an important role and is expected not only to interpret literature and art, but also to help building a harmonious society within globalized world. This is the reason why some commentators-Wang Jianjiang being one of them-point out that it is of utmost importance to eliminate this imbalance and develop proper Chinese aesthetics. Since the key issue in this development is the problem of inequality, an approach developed by Jacques Rancière, "the philosopher of equality", is proposed. Even though Rancière wrote extensively about literature, art and aesthetics, in order to confront the problem of Chinese aesthetics, it seems that a different approach, found in his repertoire, could prove to be more fruitful. In 1987, he published a book titled The Ignorant Schoolmaster, which contributed to his ongoing philosophical emancipatory project, and focused on inequality and its conditions in the realm of education. The Ignorant Schoolmaster, nonetheless, stretches far beyond the walls of classroom or even educational system, and brings to the fore political implications that cluster around the fundamental core of Rancière's political philosophy: the definition of politics as the verification of the presupposition of the equality of intelligence. Equality cannot be postponed as a goal to be only attained in the future and, therefore, has to be considered as a premise of egalitarian politics that needs to operate as a presupposition.

Enseñanza y transmisión 9. Religión, chamanismo e inmortalidad en el Zhuāng zǐ 9.1. Misticismo y prácticas meditativas 10. Estética, arte, poesía en el Zhuāng zǐ 11. El juego, el humor y la amistad en el Zhuāng zǐ 12. Comparativas 12.1. Zhuāng zǐ con la filosofía griega antigua 12.2. Tradición Zhuang-Lao 12.3. Zhuāng zǐ con autores occidentales modernos y contemporáneos 12.4. Zhuāng zǐ con el budismo 12.5. Zhuāng zǐ con el hinduísmo 12.6. Zhuāng zǐ con autores chinos 12.7. Zhuāng zǐ con el sufismo

A review of the English language academic literature on East Asian business ethical practices reveals an inordinate focus on Confucian values. This paper argues that present day business value systems in East Asia are rooted in a much more complex array of philosophical stances including Legalism, Mohism, Daoism and Buddhism from a traditional perspective, and Christianity, Marxism and the will to power of Nietzsche as more contemporary influences. The paper then posits that the latter influences made great inroads into Chinese culture in particular because of the environmental history of China, and that such environmental influences have been much neglected in the conception of western business ethics. The paper concludes with discussion of the ubiquitous social embedding of marketing that faces the same human and social complexity explored by various East Asian scholars described in this paper. We note that modern marketers often fail to own up to their macro social responsibilities.

ABSTRACT. Confucian Values and the Revival of Confucius’ Thought in
Contemporary China. The article deals with the Confucian values in the context of Confucian revival in contemporary China, on the one hand, and with Confucian thought represented by its rang 讓 (“soft”, yielding) type values in dialogue with the Western world on the other. Based on several works by Western authors in the field, the article reviews the matters of metamorphosis and adaptation of the Confucian spirit to contemporary Chinese world, with a stress on the inclination toward communalism, apparently a constant socio-cultural feature in China.
Keywords: Confucianism, rang (“to yield”, “to concede”), communalism.

In ancient Chinese culture, landscape constituted a fundamental element in religious, literary and artistic expressions. This contribution is intended as an imperfect and concise attempt to trace the “guidelines” – influenced above all by Daoist doctrine – of Chinese thought on landscape within the literature and pictorial art of traditional China.

The article explores some of the important features of pre-Qin Chinese rhetoric and challenges it poses to traditional Western rhetoric, with the former being seen as harmonic or self-effacing for its purpose and paradoxical for its epistemological underpinning. The author does not intend to suggest that the Chinese tradition is the right path to rhetoric, but at least it points to an alternative to approaching this language art as defined by Aristotle.