Abstract
As an aesthetic term, Chinese phrase "xingshi" as a translated equivalent for form has taken time to get its meaning established. The term has once been considered to be a borrowed word from Japanese, but it is actually an existent word invested with new meaning whose appearance was similar to the phrase "meixue (study of beauty)" for aesthetics. Chinese term "xingshi (pattern of shape)" came into being when translation for German formal aesthetics posed this necessity, and then the term gradually takes root into Chinese aesthetics and takes on local significance. Like in the Western context, formalism has once had negative connotation in Chinese aesthetic discourse, due to the content-oriented criticism in China. The paper claims that if any new insight could be initiated about the concept of form (xingshi) in contemporary Chinese aesthetics after the 20th century, it is essential to put the term into its historical and social specificities.
First Page
35
Last Page
44
Recommended Citation
Lai, Qinfang. 2015. ""Form" as a Term in Chinese Aesthetics." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 35, (1): pp.35-44. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol35/iss1/1
