中国藝術理論史序説 (特集 : 「始源の思索」)

Abstract

When we are going to write the history of Chinese theory of arts, we notice that there are many arguments which do not have description although they are required in a modern viewpoint. In this paper, I considerate such forgotten problems. The first one is a problem about "pleasure". Chinese thinkers regard the sensuous pleasure as being inferior to the spiritual pleasure. So, when they enjoy a work of art, they "understand" the pleasure as spiritual one, and disregard the sensuous side of the pleasure. But in Chinese philosophy, for example in Mengzi 孟子, in order to prove that all human beings likes morality, he reference that "it is same as we all like the taste of meat". It does not become others than that they accept the universality of sensuous pleasure. And in Huainanzi 淮南子, it says that beautiful women each have different faces, but they are all beauty. That is to say, Chinese thinkers accept the ability of "aesthetic" judge. Therefore, the problem about pleasure is the very important one in Chinese philosophy. In spite of this importance, because of disrespect to the sensuous pleasure we can not find the development of thought about pleasure in Chinese philosophy. So, it goes without saying in Chinese theory of arts. In connection with this problem, there is the problem about technique. In Zhuangzi 荘子 Paoding 庖丁 says that he likes Dao 道, and it is beyond the technique. In this text we find the basic thought about technique in Chinese philosophy. But about such tendency to "respect the process" in the problem of technique, we find another one in Confucian texts. In that text they say that it is important to behavior "with ease and comfort (Anan 安安)". This "respect the process" is a fundamental thought about theory of act in Chinese philosophy. And we usually emphasis the "freedom" in Chinese theory of arts, but Chinese thinker have another point of view, "model of behavior (Li 礼)". Similar to usual behavior, Chinese painter draw a picture with freedom on the one hand and in following the model on the other. What is called "Fang 彷", it is represents this intension. So when painter draw a picture in this way and "with ease and comfort", it is just an ideal action.