书写既是现代的,又是中国的美学史--《20世纪中国美学史》总序

To Write a History of Aesthetics both Modern and Chinese——General Preface to A History of 20^(th) Century Chinese Aesthetics

美学作为一个现代学科,是20世纪初年才被引入到中国的。在一个世纪的时间里,中国美学通过吸收外来资源,挖掘和阐释中国古典资源,在争论中进行独创,从而有了长足的发展。中国美学的发展,与中国百年来社会变迁,文学艺术的发展联系在一起。《20世纪中国美学史》将这一百年划分为四个时期,即从世纪之初到"五四"前后,从20年代到40年代,从50年代到"文革"结束,以及从改革开放到世纪之交,分别叙述这四个时期的社会特点以及相应的美学发展情况。在写作中既突出重点人物,同时也注重各时代众多人物的扫描,从而提供一个世纪的美学全景。最后,揭示美学这一学科在新世纪的走向和在新时代的发展前景。

The present article is the general preface to A History of 20th Century Chinese Aesthetics.As an academic discipline,aesthetics in its modern sense only entered China by the beginning of the 20th century.Learning both from the West and from China’s classical tradition,Chinese scholars made enormous strides in the research of aesthetics through many debates and innovations,and their efforts were always closely related to social transformations as well as literary and artistic movements throughout the century.A History of 20th Century Chinese Aesthetics is a detailed introduction to this process.Chronologically organized,the four volumes of this book focus on four distinct time periods in 20th century Chinese history:(1)from 1901 to the May Fourth Movement;(2)from the 1920s to the Communist Revolution of 1949;(3)from the 1950s to the end of the“Cultural Revolution”;(4)from the“Reform and Opening-up”to the turn of the century.Each volume presents the outline and major currents of aesthetic thought in a given time period and within the specific historical context.More generally,this book offers a panoramic view of the discipline of aesthetics in 20th century China as well as an in-depth study of certain major figures.It concludes with certain trends and perspectives of Chinese aesthetics in the 21st century.