Interactions between Western and Chinese aesthetics

Modern Chinese aesthetics emerged as a continuous exchange and collision between Western and Chinese cultures in the 20th century. With regard to its method and content, the defining characteristics of Chinese aesthetics were the integration and assimilation of the historical into the modern in terms of East-West cultural transformation. Historically speaking, modern Chinese aesthetics has been witness to five main paradigms regarding its development from infancy to maturity over a span of a hundred years. These five paradigms include: (1) a fragmentary elaboration of Western aesthetics through translation and introduction; (2) a systematic construction of aesthetics as a discipline that is based on transplantation; (3) a theoretical incorporation via creative reformation that was based on the East-West communication; (4) a cross-disciplinary and comprehensive practice of art education; (5) cross-cultural considerations that were derived from the inquiry into the distinct cultural origins of Chinese and its Greek and modern European counterparts. The author points out that the developmental process of modern Chinese aesthetics as a whole owes a great deal to transcultural transformation and creative appropriation.