"Beauty in Imagery" (Panel Discussion)

There are many kinds of contemporary Chinese aesthetics, and Mr. Ye Lang's "Beauty in Imagery Theory" is unique, highlighting the innovation and promotion of Chinese scholars in the production of aesthetic knowledge. "Imagery" is an important category in classical Chinese poetics, and it is an outstanding contribution of "beauty in imagery" to extract "imagery" from classical poetics and construct a contemporary aesthetic category with universal and extensive explanatory power. This theory focuses on stimulating the contemporary vitality of the classical aesthetic tradition, and at the same time absorbing the relevant resources of Western aesthetics, constituting a unique localized aesthetics. Since the late Qing Dynasty, how to modernize the category of ancient Chinese aesthetics has always been a difficult problem. From Yao Nai's "masculine beauty" and "feminine beauty", to Wang Guowei's "quaint", to Zong Baihua's "clear water hibiscus" and "wrong color gold" beauty. Ye Lang adheres to this academic tradition and proposes the "Theory of Beauty in Imagery" in a unique way, which can be regarded as a new expansion and promotion of traditional Chinese aesthetics in the new era, which deserves the attention and discussion of the academic community. The three articles published here are analysis and critique of the different perspectives of beauty in the theory of imagery, which will help us understand and recognize the rich connotation and innovative significance of this aesthetic theory. Du Wei pointed out that "beauty in imagery" breaks through the mode of epistemology and practice and returns to the level of aesthetic experience. With the method of integrating local aesthetic tradition and Western aesthetics, a rich aesthetics of life theory has been formed. Wang Desheng and Tang Shanlin emphasized that the "beauty in imagery" follows the aesthetic tradition of Peking University, and then said, "In the integration of China and the West, a kind of aesthetics of the life realm full of life is constructed, which enriches the unique "wisdom of Peking University" in contemporary Chinese aesthetics. Peng Feng believes that "beauty in imagery" is an innovation in art ontology, in which "beauty" has a universality that transcends beauty, and "imagery" as the core category profoundly reveals the unique spiritual quality of aesthetics.