中国哲学与艺术中“自然”与“自由”的共生

The Interdependency of“Naturalness”and“Freedom”in China's Philosophy and Art

不论是在哲学或是在艺术中,"自然"(natural)的观念自有以来就模棱两可。它有时意味着"如其本然",可以意指肉体或者万物化生;另一方面,它也指的是与机巧相对的行为和态度。后一种意思在欧洲出现得相当晚,但在中国,它于"自然"(ziran)一词最早出现时就已然存在。并且,"自然"(natural)一词的现代意涵,即其相对于神性化体(divine agency)的独立性,也相应地在晚近才出现于欧洲。然而,这一点在中国则值得商榷,"自然"(ziran)是将上帝从自然秩序中放逐出去的必然产物,而非迟来的附加之论。本文考察中国的"自然"(natural)与个人自由之讨论的关系,同时追寻其在宋代(10-13世纪)绘画及园林中的体现。

Whether in philosophy or in art,the idea of the 'natural'is inherently ambiguous. It cansometimes mean'as in nature,'referring to the body or to natural process. On the other hand,it can also refer to behaviors and attitudes defined in opposition to artifice. This latter sense appears rather late in Europe but seems to be present in China from the earliest occurrences of the term ziran( 自然). Likewise,the modern sense of the 'natural'as implying independence from divine agency is relatively recent in Europe. Yet in China,it could be argued,ziran was the necessary product of God's expulsion from the natural order,rather than a belated afterthought. This essay surveys the relationship between the 'natural'and a discourse of personal freedom in China,tracing as well its visualization in Song period paintings and gardens( 10ththrough 13thcenturies).