从《美辨》中读懂周宗岱

Acquiring a Deep Understanding of Zhou Zongdai by Studying His The True Essence of Beauty

20世纪80年代学术界掀起的关于"美的本质"的讨论至今仍在继续,持论者历来存在"美在客观"和"美在主观"、即"客体论"和"主体论"两种观点。周宗岱的《美辨》持"主体论",该书以马克思《1844年经济学—哲学手稿》的美学基本原理为立论根本,以不同时代的民族、文化素养、艺术门类的审美实践和人的生理、心理科学研究成果为依据,指出:"论美离不开人",把握住"美是主体对客体的评价"、"美是一个形容词"这一本质,便可理清复杂的审美现象,把握审美规律。该书体现了作者丰富的艺术实践、深厚的理论根底和严密的逻辑思维。

The discussion on The True Essence of Beauty , which was started in the circles of aesthetics in the 1980's is still going on today. The arguers have always held two different views: 'beauty in objectivity' and 'beauty in subjectivity', that is, 'theory on objects' and 'theory on subjects'. Zhou Zongdai's The True Essence of Beauty supports the 'theory on subjects'. It takes Marx's Economics and Philosophy in 1844, and bases itself on the various nations, their cultural qualities and the aesthetic practice of many kinds of art in different ages, and on the achievements of scientific researches on man's physiology and psychology. It proposes 'discussions about beauty cannot be separated from man.' If we know very well the idea that 'beauty is the evaluation of the object by the subject' and 'beauty is a modifier', it will be easy to straighten out the complicated aesthetic phenomena and grasp the law of aesthetics. The book embodies its author's enriched experience in aesthetic practice, profound theoretical knowledge and meticulous logical thinking.