比德观念中的审美与自然——以梅花意象为例

The Aesthetics and Nature in the View of Bi-de Concept Centered on the Image of Plum Blossom

梅花是中国古代图像中重要的植物意象,龚自珍却将自古以来文人画士所喜爱的梅花图式看做“病梅”,文章着意论述中国古代这种对梅花特殊的审美意识是如何确立与发展的。宋代爱梅之风兴盛对后世画梅起了决定作用,以曲、欹、疏为美的倾向产生了深远的影响。究其原因在于梅花生长的某些特点适合比德观念的阐释,且宋人有时将梅花和蜡梅混为一谈,更加深了梅花伴雪斗寒的意象。同时,朱熹用梅花的盛衰释义《易经》中的元亨利贞四德,这就把梅花与理学观念的阴阳两仪、天地万物融合为一,进一步加深了梅花与人生的联系,自然中越难得一见的情形越能够与比德观念融合,由此形成了梅花以曲欹为美的独特意蕴。

Though plum blossom is an important plant image among ancient Chinese images,GONG Zizhen regards the image of plum blossom adored by literati and painters since the ancient time as“sick plum”.This paper attempts to discuss how ancient Chinese aesthetic consciousness of plum blossom was formed and developed.The craze for plum blossom in Song Dynasty played a decisive role in painting plum blossom for the later generations whose inclination for Qu(curved),Qi(tilted)and Shu(sparse)had a profound influence.The reason is that some features of plum blossom in its growth are suitable to interpret Bi-de concept(the concept of cohensive moral).Besides,people in Song Dynasty sometimes confused plum blossom and wintersweet that further deepened the image of plum blossom roughing against snow and cold.Moreover,ZHU Xi interpreted four basic properties of Qiangua yuan-heng-li-zhen in The Book of Changes with the bloom and withering of plum blossom,which further strengthened the correlation between plum blossom and life by integrating the Neo-Confucian concept of Yin and Yang involving all creatures in the world.The rarer wonders in nature,the more suitable they are to integrate with Bi-de concept,thus there form the unique aesthetic connotations of considering Qu(curved)and Qi(tilted)as wonders when appreciating plum blossoms.