说中国艺术中的“古意”

On the“Spirit of Antiquity”in Chinese Art

中国艺术以"古意"为崇高审美理想,这"古意"难道就是回望过去、重视传统吗?从时间角度看,中国古代有两种不同的"古意":一是时间性的,古是与今相对的概念,过去的历史,历史中显现的权威话语,由权威话语所形成的古法,成为当下创造的范式;一是非时间性的,古不是与今相对的过去,而是超越古今所彰显的人的真实生命感觉。中国艺术强调,这非时间的"古意"有两个侧重点,一是为了打通人与人、人与物之间沟通的桥梁,所谓"意与古会";一是为了归复人的生命真性,这是另一种"复古"——让一颗朴素本真的"古心"复活。前者侧重在"同群",后者侧重在"点醒"。传统艺术的创造并非排斥时间性的"古意",它要在"古外求古",时间性古意作为一个他者,成为将创造者导入生命真性呈现的非时间境界的前提,"怀古一何深"的传统艺术精神就是其体现。

The"spirit of antiquity"is deemed as the lofty aesthetic ideal in Chinese art.However,does this term literally mean to look back to the past and to highly praise the tradition?From the temporal perspective,there are two different understandings of"spirit of antiquity".On the first hand,antiquity is a temporal concept,in which the past is opposed to the present.Antiquity is also a history of the past,in which authoritative discourse has been manifested in history.And the ancient canon formed in authoritative discourse has become the creative paradigm at present.On the other hand,antiquity is a non-temporal concept,in which the past is not opposed to the present.Instead,antiquity has transcended the true sense of life for all the outstanding people both in the past and in the present.In Chinese art,we may find that the non-temporal"spirit of antiquity"focuses on two aspects as follows.Firstly,it means the"communication with the antiquity",which shows the aspirations and efforts of an artist to connect and communicate with other people and things in the world.Secondly,it also means the returning and rediscovering of the true nature of human life,which is another kind of restoration of antiquity,resurrecting the simple and original"intention of antiquity".The former stresses on sharing with the peer group,while the latter is intended to remind and awaken the people.The creation of traditional Chinese art does not exclude the temporal"spirit of antiquity".What it aims at is the"pursuit for the antiquity beyond the antiquity".As the other,the temporal"spirit of the antiquity"acts as a presupposition to guide the artists into the aesthetic realm of the non-temporal"spirit of antiquity"presented by the true nature of life.The spirit of traditional Chinese art shown in the eloquent expression"how profound the nostalgia for the antiquity is"exactly embodies the"spirit of the antiquity".