As an important and universal aesthetic category, the concept of "aesthetic photo" has been widely used in both China and the West, in aesthetic theory and practice. However, although people often use this category, they are mostly ignorant of its connotation and origin. In the first issue of Philosophical Studies in 23, I read Mr. Lin Meimao's article "What do philosophers see-an analysis of the problem of' contemplation' in Plato's philosophy", which was greatly enlightened. From the perspective of China's philosophy and aesthetics, this paper makes a preliminary analysis of the aesthetic category of "aesthetic photos".
In my opinion, aesthetic photography is a necessary process of human aesthetic activities and a special way of practical connection between aesthetic subject and object. The entry of aesthetic state and the realization of aesthetic activities depend on the occurrence of aesthetic reflection at this stage to a great extent. As a kind of aesthetic experience, aesthetic photos are closely related to intuition, imagination, association, memory and empathy, but they cannot be equated. In the practice of aesthetic activities, observation and intuition are very similar, and even have some properties in common, but theoretically, aesthetic photos are irreplaceable. If all the elements of aesthetic experience do not necessarily appear or exist in the aesthetic process, aesthetic photos are essential. Or, it can be said that it is not an "aesthetic" activity without aesthetic observation of this process. In a sense, aesthetic photography is the most critical and essential link in aesthetic activities, and its existence is a sign that aesthetic activities are different from general cognitive activities.
Aesthetic photos are the most direct connection between aesthetic subject and object. Observation is a visual and intuitive way to project an object with representation form intentionally, thus generating an image with aesthetic value. There can be no visual way to observe, which also means that the object of observation must be the object of representation. At this point, I quite agree with Bao Sangkui, a British aesthetician. Bao Sangkui believes that only things that are figurative and emotional can become aesthetic objects. He said: "Except for those things that can be seen by us, nothing is useful to us, and what we feel or imagine is only those things that can become direct appearances or appearances. This is the basic theory of aesthetic representation. " [1][1] But at the same time, aesthetic photos are far more than general visual viewing, combined with obvious psychological activities. The original meaning of "contemplation" comes from China's philosophy, and its meaning is never limited to general visual viewing, but means grasping the noumenon and ultimate meaning of things through visual viewing. (This will be discussed below. )
observation does not exclude cognition, and the process of observation will include the generation of cognitive value; And if knowledge is the essence of observation, it is naturally a distortion of the characteristics of observation. Observation is the appreciation and encounter of the aesthetic subject when he looks at the object with an eye full of emotion and wisdom beyond logical thinking. This process is not only a reflection of the object, but also a unique angle to transform it into an aesthetic image based on this object. It is not only an ornamental object, but also a mutual investment with the object, forming a relationship between things and me. The aesthetic relationship between subject and object is thus formed, and the generation of aesthetic value is also in this process.
Aesthetic photos need corresponding conditions for aesthetic subject and object. As far as the object is concerned, it can be the object of aesthetic photography. First, it is perceptual and concrete, which can provide the aesthetic subject with a prototype or a holistic material. Second, the object itself has some aesthetic attribute or cloud beauty potential, which makes its beauty potential or attribute appear or "bright" in the intentional call of the subject; From the perspective of aesthetic subject, firstly, it is necessary to eliminate desires, so that the state of mind is empty and quiet, and focus on the object; Second, the subject is intuitive with unique wisdom and spirituality. Without this condition, it is difficult to talk about aesthetic photos.
Aesthetic photography is a special way of human subject-object relationship, and its process is relatively short. It is hard to imagine long-term contemplation with the object. However, aesthetic photography is the most important and critical stage for the subject to enter the aesthetic process and aesthetic situation. While entering the aesthetic photo, the subject temporarily cuts off all contact with other things in any way, and intentionally or unintentionally devotes himself to the object's attention, thus producing aesthetic pleasure. The subject and the object form a situation in which things and I forget each other. In fact, this situation of things and I forget each other is just a feeling of the subject. But it is precisely the aesthetic pleasure produced by the subject that accompanies this situation. When the contemplation reaches the extreme, it is the state of "self-loss" that Schopenhauer said. Schopenhauer profoundly discussed the situation when the subject was taking aesthetic photos. He said: "At this time, according to a meaningful German idiom, people lost themselves in the object, that is to say, people forgot his individual and his will; He has only existed as a pure subject and a mirror of the object; It seems that there is only an object and there is no one who is aware of it, so people can no longer separate the intuitive person [person] from the intuitive person [itself], but the two have become one; At the same time, the whole consciousness is completely filled and occupied by a single intuitive scene. " [2][2] Schopenhauer's "intuition" is basically consistent with our "observation" in terms of aesthetics. Although Schopenhauer's point of view has its own starting point, the analysis of "intuition", that is, aesthetic photos, is more sufficient and practical. It is worth noting that Schopenhauer pointed out the aesthetic pleasure (or cloud "pleasure") when discussing aesthetic photos. He said: "Whether it is caused by works of art or directly caused by observing nature and life, it is essentially the same pleasure." [3][3] In my opinion, the process of entering the aesthetic photo will inevitably bring the aesthetic pleasure of the subject. The subject cuts off the relationship with other real things, and focuses on a specific object with special interest and emotion, so as to achieve the degree of forgetting things and "losing themselves" in the object, which can not but make the subject feel a sense of aesthetic pleasure filled with body and mind. Liu Xie said that "climbing mountains is full of feelings, and watching the sea is full of feelings" (Wen Xin Diao Long Shen Si) and Tao Yuanming's "Picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, leisurely seeing Nanshan" (the fifth part of Drinking) and so on, all of which have a deep philosophical background in China and can be said to be "observed". The characteristics of aesthetic photos, such as the subjective empty state of mind, the situation of forgetting things and me, the intentional connection between subject and object, and the intuitive nature, are all contained in the ideological materials of China's philosophy and aesthetics about "contemplation".
in China's ancient philosophy, the propositions of "getting rid of metaphysics" in Laozi, "seeing independence" in Zhuangzi, and "looking at things and taking images" in Zhouyi all have a vital influence on China's aesthetic thinking. Chapter 1 of Laozi says, "Can I get rid of metaphysics and be flawless?" This is of far-reaching significance to the development of China's aesthetics. The popular version of Laozi is "Clear the Mystery", which was changed according to the second edition of silk book and Gao Hengzhi. Gao Heng explained the cloud: "The Xuanjian, the inner light, is a metaphysical mirror, which can look at things, so it is called Xuande." [4][4] "Jian" is a mirror that observes things. Laozi used a mirror to describe the mind. Laozi means: the inner mind is clear and quiet, and you can penetrate the mystery of things. "Zhuangzi" has played a considerable role in this: "The quietness of saints is not static, and everything is not enough to satisfy the heart, so it is static. When the water is still, the candle is bright and the eyebrows are clear, the level is accurate, and the master takes the method. The water is still bright, but the spirit is good! The sage's heart is calm! The mirror of heaven and earth is also the mirror of everything. " ("Zhuangzi. Heaven") Zhuangzi also used the calm water as a metaphor for the heart of a "saint". Because of the emptiness of the subject's mind, we can present a kind of mind to observe the object. Therefore, Zhuangzi compared the heart of a saint to "the mirror of heaven and earth" and "the mirror of all things". What Laozi and Zhuangzi said mainly refers to the emptiness and quietness of the mind, and takes the mind as the mirror of all things, without mentioning the role of vision, but in fact, the mind takes its internal vision as its intermediary. I'm afraid that Zhuangzi's so-called "seeing independence" is to add the internal visual function of the subject to it. "The Great Master" says: "I will keep it after telling you, and I will be able to change things after seven days; It's a foreign thing, and I'll keep it, and then I can be born outside after nine days; It has been born outside, and then it can be seen; Look forward to it, and then you can see independence. " Forget it when you are outside. Foreign things, the outside world, and exogenous, that is, forgetting foreign things, secularity, and even the existence. Chaoche, which describes the clarity of mind. "Seeing independence" refers to seeing the "Tao" that is independent and waiting for nothing, and seeing the deep and subtle "Tao" that he can't see. Zhuangzi said again, "It depends! Listen to silence. In the dark, I see it alone. Silent, alone and how to smell. Therefore, it is deep and profound, and it can be profound, and God can be profound and precise. Therefore, it is connected with everything, and there is nothing for it. When it is good, it is necessary to stay. " ("Zhuangzi Heaven and Earth") This remark means: insight into the Tao is far-reaching, while listening is silent. Far-reaching, but you can see its image; In silence, I hear harmony. [5][5] What Zhuangzi means here is that the insight into the Tao is through the way of seeing and hearing. Of course, this is not a general visual observation, but through the perceptual functions such as seeing and hearing to understand the depth of the Tao. The "audio-visual" mentioned by Zhuangzi here is noteworthy. From the visual point of view, it is more objective to regard the internal visual image. Both the "Xuanjian" of Laozi and the "Seeing Independence" of Zhuangzi are related to the object. Of course, the mirror looks at people and things, and "still water" is also called "bright candle and an eyebrow", both of which are directly related to the object. In the words of phenomenology, it is "intentionality".
The Book of Changes, as one of the important sources of China's ideological history, has a profound influence on the development of philosophy and aesthetics in later generations. There is a classic famous saying in the Book of Changes: "The ancients embraced the king of the family, and when they looked up, they looked at the sky, while when they looked down, they looked at the law and the land, and they looked at the articles of birds and beasts and the suitability of the land, and they took all things near and far, so they started gossip, in order to understand the virtues of the gods and the feelings of all things." This is the concentrated expression of the idea of "viewing things and taking images" in the Book of Changes. Yi Xiang itself is the product of "viewing things and taking images". "Looking at things and taking images" is first of all a visual view, and "looking up at the sky" and "looking down at the ground" are practical visual ways. But this "view" is not a general observation of objects, but a symbolic manifestation of the deep implication of things through the observation of images. As the saying goes in "Cohesion", "A saint can describe the world by seeing it, just as its things are suitable, so it is called the image." The so-called "Qiu" refers to deep and complicated things. According to the author of Zhouyi, "image" is the truth that saints find the world deep and hard to see, and imitate it into a concrete image to symbolize the appropriate meaning of things. "Observing things" is the subject's direct observation of things, but at the same time, it can grasp the internal mechanism of things.
the word "contemplation" appears most frequently in China's Buddhist classics. "Guan" and "Zhao" have similar meanings, but they are quite different when analyzed separately. "View" literally means: "Look at the truth." The concept (Shuo Wen Jie Zi) is an important practice method of Buddhism, that is, to "correct wisdom" and see all the laws. The Tiantai Sect of Buddhism in China regards "stop observing and cultivate both" as its teaching tenet. "Stop" is to stop delusions; "View" is the universal reality of the cave view. "Stop" and "view" are like two wheels of a car and wings of a bird in Buddhist practice. Fang Litian, a famous Buddhist scholar, explained the "view" and said: "The subject of all beings observes the world with Buddhist wisdom and observes the truth, and the subject's mind is directly connected with the observed object, and it is one with it, and there is no difference between subject and object, which is called the view; Or the subject observes the original heart, reflects on the original heart and realizes the original heart, which is also called view. View is the observation function of Buddhist wisdom, and it is a meditation, that is, intuition and intuition. " [6][6] "Zhao" is widely seen in Buddhist classics, and its meaning is similar to that of "view", but it is closer to "intuitive nature". Mr. Fang Litian explained the cloud: "What is closely connected with the concept is the photo. Take a look at it. See you in the photo studio. Indian Buddhism says that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are of great use in seeing all beings and things. Buddhism in China links the highest truth, the ultimate noumenon' truth as' with the subject's heart, and truth as also has the magical effect of observing all things. Truth as noumenon is empty, so China Buddhism uses photo and silence together, which leads to the saying of silent photo and photo silence. Silence, silence, reflects the empty state of truth as ontology. Silent photo, that is, the observing function of the silent body (really like the ontology). " [7][7] We can see the meaning of the word "Zhao" from Buddhist classics. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Huida elaborated the Tao Sheng's "Epiphany" in Zhao Lun Shu: "The husband said that he was a stranger, and his words were brilliant. With a unique understanding, there is no distinction between symbols. " [8][8] Xie Lingyun's theory of "Little Epiphany" says: "The husband is not coming gradually, and the letter is taught. Why do you say there's such a long way to go? If you believe in teaching, you will make progress every day; If it is not gradually clear, there is no point in entering the photo. " [9][9] "What is there, what is the same with me, comes from the photo." (ibid., page 477) Zhu Daosheng, a famous Buddhist thinker in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, said: "If I don't know, why should I be divided into the photos?" Not to see the reason outside, not to be completely ignorant. I don't know if I am in the middle, but I can't take care of it! " [1][1] and so on. From these discussions, it can be seen that "Zhao" is a thorough understanding of the "ultimate truth" of Buddhism in an intuitive way. In a sense, "Zhao" and "Wu" are synonymous. Mr. Tang Yongtong said: "The enlightened person is also called Zhao, which is the truth, the regularity, the wisdom and the reason." [11][11] But "according to" focuses on the intuitive way and the inseparability of the realized truth. Zen Buddhism uses the saying of "contemplation" more, for example, in the Tanjing of the Sixth Ancestor, it says: "Observing with wisdom, never giving up on all laws, that is, seeing nature and becoming a Buddha." "Knowing that nature has its own wisdom of prajnaparamita, it is true to words." "If you can't get since the enlightenment, you should observe Prajna, and in an instant, all your delusions will be destroyed, that is, you will know the Buddha when you realize it." Hui Neng, the sixth ancestor, said that "observing" is the main method of "seeing nature suddenly". Its first nature is "not fake words", that is, it is not a famous concept but an intuitive way; Second, the subject should have "Prajna wisdom". In China's artistic theories such as poetry, painting and calligraphy, there are many similar concepts of "contemplation", which are derived from philosophy, but they make the category of "contemplation" have rich and pure aesthetic meaning. Zong Bing's famous painting theory "Preface to Painting Landscape" in the Southern Dynasties says: "The sage reflects the Tao, and the sage is sincere in his taste. -I'm worried about my body, so I plan ahead. Write shapes with shapes and colors with colors. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------and------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't go against the inspiration of heaven, you should be alone. The peak is awkward, and the clouds are forest. " [12][12] Here, "sincere taste", "understanding with eyes" and "painting a picture in seclusion" are all about the beauty of mountains and rivers. This kind of observation contains the following meanings: First, the subject meets the "image" of the landscape with an empty and quiet mind; Second, this kind of contemplation is not a general "look", but a process of integrating things with me, concentrating on releasing feelings; Third, what you get from observing is not only the landscape shape, but the spiritual interest and charm produced in the integration of things and me. This is beyond form and quality. When talking about the "thinking" in his creation, Liu Xie said: "It is based on the spirit of Tao Jun's literary thinking, which is precious in being quiet, relaxing the five internal organs and bathing in snow. Accumulate knowledge to store treasures, exercise discretion to be rich, study and study to be poor, and train and express condolences. And then kill the mysterious solution,