从“中国风”到“东方文艺复兴”——关于西方“发现”中国艺术的阶段性差异

From "Chinoiserie" to "Oriental Renaissance" : Periodical Evolution of Western "Discovery" on Chinese Arts

受限于东西方艺术交流基本依赖商贸往来和传教士活动的特点,17—18世纪欧洲“中国风”中接触到的中国艺术品大都为明清时代的世俗性物品和装饰性工艺美术品。19世纪末和20世纪初,在帝国主义侵略造成大批中国珍宝流失海外的背景下,西方世界对中国艺术的接受由当下转向古代,由世俗器物转向高雅艺术,由实用转为对艺术品背后美学观念的探究。其中,英国汉学家劳伦斯·宾庸是中国艺术进入欧美现代主义文艺圈的重要桥梁,而艺术评论家罗杰·弗莱则在东西方艺术具有共通性观念的基础上,以对中国艺术形式之美的阐释跨越了文化鸿沟,借“东方文艺复兴”推动了西方现代主义文艺的发展。

During the 17th and 18th century, most Chinese artworks entered the European world are only daily commodities and common decorative folkcrafts from the Ming and Qing Dynasty, due to the limitation of the commerce and missionary between the East and the West. Until the end of the 19th century and beginning of 20th century, under the western imperialist aggression during the turn of the century, the western world has experienced a change of contact with Chinese arts from the "present" to ancient time, from utensils in daily life to the high art level, turning its attention from the practical usage to oriental aesthetical conceptions of these artworks. Particularly, British sinologist Laurence Binyon could be considered an important connection for the Chinese literatures and arts entering the European and American modernist circles. Art critic Roger Fry crossed the cultural gap by explaining the beauty of Chinese art form on the basis of the common concept of eastern and Western art, and promoted the development of Western modernist literature and art through the "Oriental Renaissance".