颓废审美风格与晚明中国现代性

Decadent Aesthetic Style and Chinese Modernity in the Late Ming Dynasty

颓废是一种历史性的现象,晚明中国因商品经济高度发展、政治黑暗和心学播散等原因,赋予"颓废"以新质。晚明士人的颓废是一种"去道德化"的审美精神,主要表现为一种社会审美风格和文学审美风格。晚明士人躲避宰制儒家所追求的崇高精神的规约,一方面,通过生命扭曲的自放生活表征出怪诞化的社会审美风格;另一方面,通过艺术化的社会生活表现出精致化的社会审美风格。晚明文学作为彼时士人生活之反映,亦表现出综合化、怪诞化、精致化等颓废审美风格特征。晚明士人的颓废审美风格是以消极的方式来解除社会压抑的程度,尽可能地追求个体自由,已具有个性解放的精神质素,从而表征着中国现代性。

Decadence as a historical phenomenon, had a new features due to the economic, politic, and cultural characteristics in the late Ming dynasty. The decadence of the late Ming Dynasty was a kind of ＂de-moralized＂ aesthetic spirit which mainly showed a social and literary aesthetic style. In order to escape ethical norm of the noble spirit by Confucian, the scholars released the weird social aesthetic style through self-indulgent life style, and also showed the refined aesthetic style through the artistic social life. The literature in the late Ming Dynasty as a reflection of the then scholars＇ life showed the decadent aesthetic style with integrated, weird and refined characteristics. That decadent aesthetic style was just a negative way to get rid of the social pressure, but to maximize the pursuit of individual freedom, which had the quality of the spirit of personal liberty, and was the characterization of Chinese modernity.