The Problems of Comparative Inquiry of Classical Chinese and Western Aesthetics

The article critically examines too generalized treatment of Chinese and Western aesthetics in their comparative studies, which, according to the author, is one of the biggest obstacles in the more nuanced and better understanding of the differences and similarities between those two traditions. The article aims to clarify and discuss the examples of such generalizations and the problems of the comparisons between Classical Western and Chinese aesthetics implied by them. In the first part, the main "narratives" of Chinese and Western aesthetics are discussed, namely, the one of "expression" and "imitation" accordingly, with the particular attention to their treatment by some sinologists, as well as the sources of those narratives in the philosophical ideas of every aesthetic tradition. The second part analyses the impact of those philosophical ideas to the treatment of the relation between reality and art in Chinese and Western theories of art, as it was presented in the comparative studies by Western and Chinese scholars. The final part critically examines the problems of the interpretation and understanding of the meaning of the most important aesthetic concepts in Chinese and Western aesthetics.