Benevolent Neighborhood Is Beauty: The Meta-problem of the Aesthetic Thought in Pre-Qin Confucianism
Abstract
The idea that "benevolent neighborhood is beauty" in The Analects highlights the human aspect of Confucian aesthetics, and the theoretical proposition in the idea may be argued to be a meta-problem. It reveals the intrinsic connection between Confucius's aesthetics and his view of benevolence (Ren) and the benevolence-based nature of Confucian aesthetics, while it is the rationale and criteria for aesthetic thinking and judgment in various fields of life, society, art and nature. Confucius's idea of benevolence echoes in Mencius's concept that "enrichment and fulfillment are beauty." The idea that "benevolent neighborhood is beauty" highlights three main characteristics of pre-Qin Confucian aesthetic thought: 1) explicit concern about human life, 2) thematic and content approach to beauty, and (3) non-isolation among beauty, aesthetic activities and other practices. The paper claims that Confucius's idea of "benevolent neighborhood" also contains contemporary implications for the material-oriented way of living in the current society.
First Page
125
Last Page
131
Recommended Citation
Tan, Haozhe. 2013. "Benevolent Neighborhood Is Beauty: The Meta-problem of the Aesthetic Thought in Pre-Qin Confucianism." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 33, (3): pp.125-131. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol33/iss3/8
