孔子与苏格拉底: 述者与作者 Confucius and Socrates: Transmitter and Maker

孔子 (551-479BC) 和苏格拉底 (469-399BC) 是历史上两个著名的思想家。他们对中西文化各自有重大影响。人们常把苏格拉底说成是西方的孔子。
可是我们知道这两个思想家是不同的，主要因为它们生活在不同的社会、文化、政治环境里。
我们注意到孔子所生活的周朝已达到高度成熟的政治文化、交易系统、社会结构。孔子幸运地承继了纪录得很好的古典书籍，如诗、尚书、易经、礼、乐、春秋。孔子用它们来做教育子弟学生的基本教科书。所以孔子自豪的说他‘述而不作，信而好古’。
苏格拉底就没有那么好运，他没有已被接受的参考书来开展他的哲学理念。我们可以说他并没有选择，只能成为作者。
孔子作为中国古代传统的一个述者，对他的古代著作阐述的接受，他并没有面对重大阻力。据说他有学生三千名，其中著名弟子七十二名。这些弟子对他很敬畏，以日月来比喻他的德行。他死后被葬于故土附近，不少弟子为他守墓三年，还植树来怀念他。据说他死后的第二年，鲁哀公将其故宅隔改建为庙，还为他奉祀。这是儒学漫长历史的开端。
作为新理念的哲学作者，苏格拉底的努力事实上引起疑虑，被看成是民主的反对者。公元前399年的一天，苏格拉底站在500名雅典陪审员前，被指控‘拒绝承认国家所承认的神’和‘败坏年轻人’。在聆听了苏格拉底和控方的陈词后，陪审员对他的罪名投票，而以280对220的票数判他有罪。他被判死刑。
很明显的，述者和作者的命运是不同的。
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Confucius (551-479BC) and Socrates (469-399BC) are two of the most important thinkers in History. They have a huge impact on eastern and western culture respectively. People tend to say that Socrates is the Confucius of the western world and vice versa.
But we all know that these two thinkers are very different, and this is so mainly because they lived in very different social, cultural and political environments.
We have noted that Confucius lived during the Chinese Zhou dynasty which had already achieved a highly sophisticated political culture, educational system and social structure. Confucius had the good fortune of inheriting many well documented classical texts, such as the Books of Odes (Poetry), History, Changes, Rites, Music and The Annals of Spring and Autumn. Confucius took them as the basic textbooks to educate his disciples and students. Confucius had therefore proudly declared that he is ‘a transmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving the ancients’.
Socrates was not so lucky to have well accepted texts as his reference in developing his philosophical ideas. One can therefore say that he had no choice but to be a maker.
Confucius as a transmitter of ancient Chinese traditions did not face major resistances in getting his interpretation of ancient works accepted. It is said that he had three thousand students, of whom seventy-two were well-known disciples. His disciples respected or revered him and compared his virtue to the sun and moon. After his death, he was buried near his native town, and many of his disciples stayed there for three years mourning for him, where they planted trees in memory of him. It is believed that the second year after his death, the Duke of Lu took his house as the temple, where the duke made sacrifice to him. This was the beginning of the long history of the Confucianism.
As a maker of new ideas and philosophy, Socrates’ effort had actually raised suspicions about him and he was seen as a critic of democracy. On a day in 399 BC Socrates stood before a jury of 500 of his fellow Athenians accused of ‘refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state’ and ‘of corrupting the youth.’ After hearing the arguments of both Socrates and his accusers, the jury was asked to vote on his guilt and he was found guilty by a vote of 280 to 220. He was sentenced to death.
The fates of a transmitter and maker are obviously different.

中国艺术意境: 象外之境 Chinese Artistic Vision: Scene beyond Images

艺术意境是另一个重要的中国美学概念，为二十世纪的美学家所热烈讨论与阐述。
意境经常与境界交替使用。然而，境界有较广的意义。学者如王国维、宗白华、冯友兰等都说人生有不同境界。宗白华认为人生有五种境界，艺术境界就是其中的一种。
艺术境界其实就是意境。
意境不单是情感与景色的完全交融。
意境就是意与境。
意就是情感。所谓写情则沁人心脾，写景则在人耳目，述事则如其口出是也。
境就是指我们的心神遨游古、今以至未来的时间之中，由无数形象形成图像。这些形象由虚与实之空间所形成。众所周知，中国美学认为虚更重要，因为虚比实更能提示性的表达。要引出意境，我们要现象处身于无限时空之中，同时艺术品需能传达‘象外之象’和‘境外之境’并引出我们的世界感、宇宙感、人生感。
就是说，意境代表一种抽象形象美，它的大部分藏于形式内或超越形式，所以只会显现于行家或灵目之中。
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Artistic vision (yijing) is another important Chinese aesthetic concept that was very much discussed and elaborated by aestheticians during the 20th century. The western readers should not confuse the Chinese term artistic vision (yijing) with the Book of Changes (yijing). Although the pinyin for these two terms is exactly the same, but the actual Chinese words for them are totally different.
Artistic Vision (Yijing) is often used interchangeably with the term Horizon (jingjie). However, the term Horizon has a broader meaning. Scholars such as Wang Guowei, Zong Baihua and Fong You-lan talked about various types of Horizon of life. Zong Baihua said that there were five types of horizon of life and artistic horizon was one of them.
The artistic horizon actually refers to the artistic vision (yijing).
Artistic vision is more than a perfect aesthetic fusion of artistic feeling or idea with scenic images.

The Chinese term yijing consists of two words: yi and jing.
Yi means feelings. One scholar once said, ‘it is in the expression of feelings that is heart-stirring and mind-freshening, in the description of scenes that is vivid and engaging, and also in the narrative of events that is lucid and authentic as though coming straight from the mouth of a good story teller. ’
The words jing refers to the land of countless images that form a picture in one’s mind that moves along the time line from past to present and towards future. The images are formed by spaces that are unoccupied (xu) and occupied (shi). It is well known in Chinese aesthetics that the unoccupied is more important as it can be more suggestively telling than the occupied. Therefore, to achieve artistic vision, one must imagine he is in the land of infinite time and space and that the art work should convey ‘images beyond images’ and ‘scenes beyond scenes’ which will bring out one’s sense of world, universe and life views.
In other words, artistic vision represents a kind of abstract beauty of images in which more than half conceals itself within or beyond Form and is revealed only to the ‘informed’ and searching eye.

中国官员：天何言哉 Chinese Officials: Does Heaven Speak?

联合早报11月21日报道，中国前驻法大使、外交学院前院长吴建民昨天在官方《人民日报》上发表文章，批评一些中国高官不懂得如何同外国人交流，把大量时间浪费在充满套话、废话和空话的无效交流上，指出交流力缺失是中国社会的一大浪费。
他说一些人就好像茶壶里装饺子，倒不出来。这个比喻可说是神妙极了，饺子借用外力进壶颈倒不太难，可要它自己显出，可是不易呀。
吴建民认为，造成这种现象，既有历史原因，也有现实原因。自古中国人的哲学是‘敏于行，讷于言’，‘能说会道’的人容易被批评为夸夸其谈，而不善表达的人倒是人们表扬的对象。
看来是孔老夫子教导错误了。
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It was reported on 21 Nov in the Zaobao that Wu Jianmin, the former Chinese Ambassador to France and former Dean of the China Foreign Affairs University wrote in the official ‘People’s Daily’ and criticized certain Chinese officials who did not know to communicate properly with foreigners, wasted much time in using polite, nonsensical and empty words for ineffective communication. He pointed out that the loss of power of communication is a great waste for the Chinese society.
He said that certain people are like the dumplings in tea pots – just could not be poured out. This is an interesting analogy. While it is not too difficult for the dumplings to be pressed into a tea pot with a little help by external forces, it is rather difficult to them to get out of it on their own.
Wu felt that there are both historical and practical reasons that can be used to account for such phenomenon. The ancient Chinese philosophers teach that one should be hesitant to speak, fearing that their actions would not do justice to their words. A person with a ready and eloquent tongue may be seen to be an empty talker, while people who are not good in expressing themselves may be praised.
Looks like Confucius should be blamed for his wrong teachings.

理性主义：二元论 Rationalism: Dualism

西方理性主义的理论中，对真理的决定是基于知性和推理而不是感官。它崇尚永恒多过变动，这就产生了各种的二元论。
它产生了本体二元论。就是说，存在被认为比变易优异。
它也产生了心体二元论，意味着与这个变动世界关联的身体，被当作比与永恒世界联系的灵魂来得低下。
二元论还有其它一系列的分体：理念世界-知觉世界，本质-现象，唯心-唯物，主体-客体，等等。
二元分开，这边无法通到另一边。这就成为至今还困扰西方哲学家的最大难题：如何解释二元间的关系？也就是说，如何统一双方？
注：华人的阴阳学说不是二元论，因为阴与阳不是二个个体：所谓阴中有阳，阳中有阴是也。
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The western Rationalism is based on a theory in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and reasoning. It prefers permanence over flux and this has produced many kinds of dualism.
It has produced ontological dualism. That is to say, being has always been seen as superior to becoming.
It also produces the dualism of soul and body which implies that the value of body associated with the world of flux has been construed as inferior to that of the soul associated with the unchanging world of permanence.
The dualism further displays in a serial of separations: idea world - perceivable world, noumenon - phenomenon, idealism - materialism, subject - object, etc.
The two sides in each pair separate from each other and they cannot pass from one side to the other side. This has become the most difficult problem that has haunted philosophers even to the present: how to explain the relationship between the two sides? Or put it another way, how to unify the two sides?
Note: The Chinese yin-yang theory is not a dualism, as yin and yang are not separated – as the saying goes, yin is always contained in yang and yang in yin.

子曰：天何言哉？ Confucius Said: Does Heaven Speak?

子曰：‘予欲无言。”子贡曰：“子如不言，则小子何述焉？”子曰：‘天何言哉？四时行焉，百物生焉，天何言哉？’
孔子说：“我不想讲话了。”子贡说：“老师如果不讲话，那么弟子们又传述什么呢？”孔子说：“天讲了什么呢？春夏秋冬照样运行，天下百物照样生长，天讲了什么呢？”
我们可以从孔子“予欲无言”这四个字里看到孔子内心的一种无奈。孔子为什么不想讲话呢？除了因为言易行难，更重要的是言不尽意呵。
关于第一点，孔子说了不少：‘巧言令色，鲜矣仁’、‘古者言之不出，恥躬之不逮也’、‘君子欲訥於言，而敏於行’ 。
关于第二点，孔子在易经中就指出：‘书不尽言，言不尽意。’所以，‘圣人立象以尽意，设卦以尽情伪，系辞焉以尽其言。’
就这样，重象轻言的说法后来就成了中国美学里最重要的审美概念。比较起来，西方则重‘文字’（罗各斯）而轻‘影像’。
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Confucius said, 'I would prefer not speaking.' Zi-gong said, 'If you, the Master, do not speak, what shall we, your disciples, have to record and pass on?' Confucius said, 'Does Heaven speak? The four seasons pursue their courses, and all things are continually being produced, but does Heaven say anything?'
One can sense the Master’s inner feeling of lack of choices when he said he would prefer not speaking. Why didn’t he prefer speaking? This is due to the difficulty in applying his teachings in our daily lives and more importantly, the difficulty in using words to transmit completely his teachings.
On the first point, Confucius has a lot to say about it:
- Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with virtue.
- The ancients were hesitant to speak, fearing that their actions would not do justice to their words.
- The Superior Man desires to be hesitant in speech, but sharp in action.
On the second point, Confucius said in Yijing: “Writing cannot fully express spoken words, and spoken words cannot fully express ideas.” As such, he continued: “A Sage establishes images/symbols to fully express his ideas, and he designs the hexagrams to plumb true and false feelings. He appends text to them to express his words.”
Now, his preference of ‘images/symbols’ over ‘words’ was later evolved into the most important aesthetic concept in the traditional Chinese aesthetics, as compared to the Western preference of ‘words’ (logos) over appearances.

中国文字：书法的第一形式美 Chinese Characters: The Beautiful Primary Form of Chinese Calligraphy

我们注意到中国文字是书法的第一形式美。
通常说中国文字具有意、音、形三美。就是这形美吸引了书法家，使到他们中不少人以终身的精力来研究如何把美丽的文字优美的写好。
我们说中文字有美感是因为他们是以美感标准和原理来创造的。
就让我们看一些用来组成中国文字结构的重要原理吧。
匀称：文字的笔画可简单、可复杂、可粗、可细、可长、可短。它们要适当和相称地排列，令人感到均衡、相称和协调。
让就：指笔画在文字结构上的安排。主笔和副笔分清以协调。相同的，字的左右、上下、中间的笔画或组成部分位置要适当，这样才不会不得体。
平正：指横平竖直。就是说每字的中心要平衡和稳定，以使字平正。
中国传统美学的美源于自然。中国文字的制造的原理就是要体现自然之次序和纹理，和自然之平衡与协调。
难怪两千多年前，汉朝学者杨雄就说：‘书，心画也。’
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We have noted that Chinese characters are the primary form of Chinese Calligraphy.
The Chinese characters are said to possess beauty in sense, sound and form. It is the beautiful form that catches the attention of the Chinese calligraphers and many of them have spent their lifetime to study how this beautiful form can be beautifully executed.
It is said that the form of Chinese characters is aesthetically beautiful because the words are structured based on aesthetic rules and principles.
Let’s look at some of the important principles that are used to create the structure of Chinese characters.
Yunchen (匀称): The Chinese term yunchen means well proportioned. The strokes that form the characters can be simple or complicated, fat or lean, long or short. They must be suitably and proportionately arranged so as to give one a sense of good balance, fine proportion and harmony.
Rangjiu (让就): The Chinese term ranjiu means suitably positioned. This refers to structural arrangement of strokes of the character. A distinction between the principal stroke and the subordinate strokes is drawn so that they can be harmonized. Similarly, the left and right, top and bottom, and the central strokes or components that form the character must be positioned appropriately so that none of the component parts is out of place.
Pingzheng (平正): The Chinese term pingzheng means straight and even. This means the dash, or horizontal stroke is level, or flat; and the vertical stroke is upright. In other words, the centre of gravity of the character must be balanced and steady so that the form of the character will become level and even.
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In traditional Chinese aesthetics, beauty is rooted in nature. The form of Chinese characters is created based the principles that aim to embody the order and pattern of nature as well as the balance and harmony of the nature.
It is no wonder that Yang Xiong (53 BC – 18 AD), a Han dynasty scholar, said more than two thousand years ago that the Chinese characters are the picture of mind.

苏轼：欲把西湖比西子 Su Shi: Drinking at the Lake

当一个感性诗人在湖边喝酒，遥想美女，其结果会如何？
诗人：苏轼(1037–1101) 是宋代著名作者、诗人、画家和书法家。从1060年起的二十年，他在中国各地当官，其中令人瞩目的是在杭州，在那里西湖边建了苏堤。
美人：西施（506 BC-？）是中国四大美人之一。西子就是西施。西施之美，据说依露台下望鱼池，鱼儿都会感到眩眼而忘了游水，渐往下沉；鸟儿会忘了飞而从天掉下；月儿渐淡；花儿耻于相比而关花瓣。
湖：在杭州之西边，西湖三面为连绵山地树木所围，是杭州地标，也是中国最美丽的景观之一。传说西湖是天上掉下来的宝石。
结果：诗人为与西施同美的美景所激励，以诗来表达了情怀。千年来，这诗吸引了无数人来游览这湖。
苏轼（ 1037 – 1101 ）: 《饮湖上初晴后雨》

水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇；

欲把西湖比西子，淡妆浓抹总相宜。

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When a sentimental poet drank at a lake and thought of a beautiful lady, what would happen?
The Poet: Su Shi (1037–1101) was a famous writer, poet, artist, calligrapher of the Song Dynasty. Beginning in 1060 and throughout the following twenty years, Su held a variety of government positions throughout China; most notably in Hangzhou, where he was responsible for constructing a pedestrian causeway across the West Lake that still bears his name: sudi (蘇堤).
The Beauty: Xi Shi (506 BC – ?) was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. The word Xi in Chinese means West. As such, Xi Shi is also known as the Lady of the West. Xi Shi was said to be so beautiful that while leaning over a balcony to look at the fish in the pond, the fish would be so dazzled that they forgot to swim and gradually sunk away from the surface, birds would forget to fly and fall from the sky, the moon would fade, and flowers would close their petals in shame in comparison to her.
The Lake: Lying on the west edge of Hangzhou city, West Lake, surround in three sides by rolling wooded hills, is the symbol of Hangzhou as well as one of the most beautiful sights in China. Legend has it that West Lake was originally a jewel fallen from heaven.
The result: The poet was obviously inspired by the beautiful scenery that was as pretty as the Lady of the West. He expressed his poetic sentiment in a poem that has captivated countless people for centuries to visit the lake.
Su Shi: Drinking at the Lake
The brimming waves delight the eye on sunny days,
The dimming hills present rare view in rainy haze.
West Lake may be compared to Lady of the West,
Whether she is richly adorned or plainly dressed.

子日：述而不作 Confucius Said: A Transmitter and Not a Maker

孔子（551BC – 479 BC）出生与生活于周代春秋时期中国东北的鲁国。周代(1122 BC to 256 BC) 是中国历史上历时最久的一个朝代，建国初期和后期，人们生活条件和社会状况相差很大。
周朝在政治文化、教育系统、社会结构高度成熟，成就很大，礼乐文化闻名。周朝书籍著作和保留很多，包括诗经、尚书、易经、周礼。
孔子沮丧于周礼乐文化之衰微与没落。礼乐文化在他于公元前551年出世之前的几个世纪就已经发展和兴盛成熟。
道家的反应是逃避人类文明，在自然中寻找宁静与自由。而孔子的反应是全面的、长远的解决方案，就是以周文化来教化百姓。
所以当孔子说‘述而不作，信而好古’时，倒不是他的谦虚之言，而是现成的选择。
他还说：‘我非生而知之，好古，敏以求之者也。’
无可避免地，在传述古典思想时，他以自己的伦理观念加以阐述。而这些阐述最后发展成为一家之说，那就是儒家。
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Confucius (551BC - 479 BC) was born and raised in the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period of Zhou dynasty in Shandong province in northeast China. The Zhou dynasty (1122 BC to 256 BC) is by far the longest in Chinese history, and the conditions of life and the state of society at the beginning and end of it are vastly different.
The Zhou dynasty achieved a highly sophisticated political culture, educational system and social structure. It was famous for its culture of rites and music (礼乐文化) and lots of writing were produced and preserved from Zhou dynasty, including Book of Odes (Shi Jing), Book of History (Shang Shu), Book of Changes (Yi Jing), and the Rites of Zhou (Zhou Li).
Confucius was disheartened on seeing the decline and falls of the Zhou culture of rites and music, which was developed and flourished for a number of centuries prior to his birth in 551 BC.
While the Daoists responded by moving away from human civilization and finding tranquility and liberation in nature, Confucius responded with a holistic, long term solution by teaching his fellow people the Zhou culture.
Thus, when Confucius said he is ‘a transmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving the ancients’, he is not being modest. Rather he was making an existential choice.
He continued: ‘I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there. ’
It is inevitable that while transmitting the ideas from the classics, he gave them interpretations derived from his own moral concepts, which ultimately evolved into a school of thought known as Confucianism.

易经：天道、人道、地道 Yijing: The Three-tier Universe

易经清楚的说明宇宙的三结构：‘易之为书也，广大悉备，有天道焉，有人道焉，有地道焉。’
中国古典著作中，常把天道和地道合称为天道。天地为宇宙，天地之道就是天道。
人和天不是两个不同的个体，他们是宇宙完整的三结构，易经明显把人放在宇宙的中心，为其脑筋。
这样，易经提出了‘天人合一’的思想。
易经亦提出了天地人三道的六个属性：‘昔者圣人之作‘易’也，将以顺性命之理，是以立天之道曰阴与阳，立地之道曰柔与刚，立人之道曰仁与阳义。’
同‘中庸’中的‘天命之謂性，率性之謂道’一起读，我们可进一步理解天性和人性。
这里所说的天地人道其实都是‘形而下’道或器之道。易经说‘形而下者谓之器’，这器道是物质世界的原理。
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Yijing spells out clearly the theory of the three-tier universe when it says: ‘As a book the Yijing is vast and broad, comprehending all details. In it there is the Dao of Heaven, there is the Dao of Man, and there is the Dao of Earth.’
One should take note that in the Chinese classical books, very often Dao of Heaven and Earth are mentioned simply as the Dao of Heaven (tian dao). Since Heaven and Earth form the physical world, tian dao actually refers to the Dao of Nature.
Man and Nature are not two separate entities. Rather, they form integral parts of the three-tier universe and we have noted that Yijing clearly positions Man at the centre of this universe as its brain.
With this, Yijing is said to have developed the idea of oneness between Man and Nature.
Yijing also points out the six major attributes/elements of these three Dao: ‘In the past, when the sages made Yijing, they developed it in compliance with the ways of human nature. Therefore, the elements constituting the Heaven way are yin and yang; the elements constituting the Earth are the soft and the hard; the elements making out the way of Man are humanity and righteousness.’
One should read the above together with the following sentences from Zhong Yong (The Doctrine of Mean) to further reflect the idea of human and terrestrial nature: ‘What (ethical) Tian confers (on man) is called his (human) nature; following our straightforward nature is called the Dao.’
The three Dao mentioned here are actually the within-form Dao, or the Way of Qi (器). Yijing says: ‘What is within Form are called Qi (器)’ and the within-form Dao applies therefore to all things in the terrestrial world.

陶渊明：道家精神最高境界 Tao Yuan-Ming: Daoism at its Best

录自冯友兰《中国哲学简史》：
道家对艺术没有正面提出系统的见解，但是他们追求心灵的自由流动，把自然看为最高理想，这给了中国的伟大艺术家无穷的灵感。由于这一点，许多中国艺术家把自然作为艺术的对象，就不足为怪了。中国美术作品中的许多杰作都是写山水、花鸟、树木、竹枝。在许多山水画里，山脚下、溪水边，往往能看见一个人，静坐沉醉在天地的大美之中，从中领会超越于自然和人生之上的妙道。
在中国的诗歌里，让我们读陶渊明（公元三七三至四七二年）的诗《饮酒》（其五）：
结庐在人境，而无车马喧。
问君何能尔？心远地自偏。
采菊东篱下，悠然见南山。
山气日夕佳，飞鸟相与还。
此中有真意，欲辨已忘言。
这正是道家所追求的最高精神境界。
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Extraced from A Short History of Chinese Philosophy by Fong You-lan:
The Taoists had no formal treaties on art, but their admiration of the free moment of the spirit and their idealization of nature gave profound inspiration to the great artists of China. This is being the case, it is no wonder that most of the great artists of China took nature as their subject. Most of the masterpieces of Chinese painting are paintings of landscapes, animals and flowers, trees and bamboos. In the landscape painting, at the foot of maintain or the bank of a stream, one always find a man sitting, appreciating the beauty of nature and contemplating the Tao or Way that transcends both nature and man.
Likewise in Chinese poetry we find such poems as that by T’ao Ch’ien (Tao Qian 陶潜, AD. 372-427):
I build my hut in a zone of human habitation,
Yet near me there sounds no noise of horse or coach,
Would you know how that is possible?
A heart that is distant creates a wilderness round it.
I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge,
Then gaze long at the distant summer hills,
The mountain air is fresh at the dusk of day;
The flying birds two by two return.
In these things there lies a deep meaning,
Yet when we would express it, words suddenly fail us.
Here we have Taoism at its best.

中国美学: 境界 Chinese Aesthetics: Horizon of True Emotions and Scenes

境界是王国维所阐述的其中一个重要的中国美学概念。这本来是个佛家词语，指境或尘，就是感觉作用的区域；又为对象；心识活动范围。
他对境界的解说：‘境非独谓景物也。喜怒哀乐，亦人心中之一境界。故能写真景物，真感情者，谓之有境界。否则谓之无境界。’
就是说，境界要有真感情和真景物。
据他所说，境界有四个透视镜：
1。造境与写境：这理想派和写实派得分别， 虽然事实上不易分别，因大诗人所造之境必合乎自然，所写之境必邻于理想故也。
2。有我与无我之境：艺术家与景物完全认同，是为有我之境，类似里柏斯的移情状态。我在景物中迷失，似乎消失，无我之境也。
3。大小之境：境界有大小，不以是而分优劣。
4。隔与不隔之境：‘隔’就是‘雾里看花’。‘不隔’就是自然表现的真感情与真景物而令参与者获得直觉的理解和深邃的鉴赏。
我们可以总结说，境界是文艺价值的最终判断和艺术创作的理想。
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The notion of Horizon (jing-jie), as elaborated by Wang Guowei, is one of the most important Chinese aesthetic concepts. Jing-jie is actually a Buddhist term visaya which means the scope of sense perception or the characteristic of sense experience.
On the meaning of Horizon, he said: ‘The poetic state is not limited to scenery and objects alone. Pleasure and anger, sorrow and joy are also a sort of jing-jie in men’s hearts. Therefore, those poems that describe true scenes and objects (真景物), true emotions and feelings (真感情), can be said to possess jing-jie. Otherwise, they may be said to be lack of jing-jie.’
In other words, Horizon is about true emotions and true scenes.
According to him, Horizon can be viewed from four perspectives:
1. Created or Described Horizon: This is the basis of the distinction between idealists and realists. In reality, it is not easy to differentiate them, as great art works must be both created naturally and described ideally.
2. Involved-Self or Detached Self: Horizon of an Involved-Self is a situation whereby the artist totally immerses himself personally and emotionally. This is quite similar to Lipps’ condition of empathy. In the case of a Detached-Self, the self is so deeply lost in the object that it seems to disappear.

3. Large or Small Horizon: Horizon can be large or small, but it cannot be used as a basis for determining excellence or inferiority of an art piece.
4. Veiled or Non-Veiled Horizon: The Veiled Horizon refers to a situation where one ‘views flowers through a mist’. On the other hand, Non-Veiled Horizon is achieved through the natural expression of real feelings and scenes that enable participants to attain intuitive apprehension and profound appreciation.
We can therefore conclude that Horizon or jing-jie is an ultimate measure of literary value and an ideal of artistic creation.

中国书法：古典优雅的艺术 Chinese Calligraphy: Fine Art of Classical Elegance

书法之本质，已有不少讨论，但至今尚无定论。一学派从王国维之古雅说中获取灵感。
王国维美学观点无疑是形式主义者。他主张从定义来说，美都是形式美，存于形式之对称、变化及调和。例如，英雄和他的境遇提供了小说或戏剧的材质，可是这些材质只能通过某种适当形式才能引起美的感觉。只有这个有别于材质的形式，才是美的对象。
他说形式有两种。那些由第一形式自然地和完美地表现出来的，能唤起优美和宏壮之美。那些由第二形式巧妙地表现出来的，可产生优雅的美的客体。第二形式不存在于自然世界。
王国维把第二形式美称为古雅。
通常说书法是写汉字的艺术。如果我们接受汉字是书法的第一形式，那么很自然的，可下结论说书法就是汉字之艺术表现的第二形式。
换句话说，书法是古雅的艺术。
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There have been a lot of discussions on the nature of Chinese Calligraphy without any generally accepted agreement till today. One school of thought gets its inspiration from Wang Guowei's theory of guya (古雅).
Wang’s view on aesthetics is no doubt that of a formalist. He asserts that all beauty is by definition formal beauty that lies in the symmetry, variety and harmony of form. For example, the hero and his situation provide the subject matter of a novel or drama, but this subject matter can arouse aesthetic feelings only through adequate form. Only this form, which is distinct from the subject matter, can become an aesthetic object.
He says that there are generally two types of form. What is expressed naturally and perfectly in the primary form will produce an aesthetic object of either the beautiful (优美) or the sublime (宏壮), and what is skillfully represented in the secondary form will produce an aesthetic object of the refined (古雅). The secondary form does not exist in the natural world.
The term guya consists of two Chinese characters: gu (ancient or classical) and ya (grace or elegance). Wang put them together to mean a kind of classical elegance or refined gracefulness in art.
It is generally accepted that Chinese Calligraphy is an art of writing Chinese words or characters. If one accepts that the Chinese characters are the primary form of Chinese Calligraphy, then one would naturally conclude that Chinese Calligraphy is the artistic expression of Chinese characters in their secondary form.
In other words, Chinese Calligraphy is a fine art of classical elegance.

西方哲学之道路 The Journal of the Western Philosophy

西方哲学之道路分为天人合一、理想主义和生活世界三个阶段。
天人合一：包括亚理斯多德在内，一般认为泰勒斯是希腊首个哲学家。泰勒斯尝试找出对世界的自然的解释，而不需要指向超自然。他相信世上包括人类在内的万物有共同点，它们相连于‘一’。对他而言，这个‘一’就是‘水’。在他以后的哲学家都提出了相似观点，虽然他们所指的‘一’是不同的东西。
理性主义：苏格拉底和柏拉图对他们以前的哲学家对世界本质提出自相矛盾的解释和学说深感幻灭。柏拉图把注意力转移到研究人类获取知识能力。他认定世上有永恒和普世的知识，靠人类用推理就能掌握的。由此所导致的西方理性主义在促进西方科学和科技的发达扮演了重要的角色。
有人说十七世纪所创造的现代科学，解决了对世界性质的认识。但是，我们还没有解决人在世上的位置和人类文明行为的问题。这就令我们的处境更加危险。
生活世界：1936 年胡塞尔提出‘生活世界’的概念，强调人类紧密的套入现实实体之中。生命世界是人类分析、沟通和社交于多个区域的社会、政治、历史和文化环境。
海德格尔更提出‘人在世界中’的概念来清晰阐明它是归一的现象，须要从整体来看。就是说人类需要融入和沉浸入物质的、实体的日常世界中。
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The journal of the Western philosophy can be divided into three significant phases of Oneness, Rationalism and Life-world.
Oneness: Many, most notably Aristotle, regard Thales as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition. Thales attempted to find naturalistic explanations of the world, without reference to the supernatural. He believed that there was a basic similarity between all things, including human being, in the world. They are all related to each other by the One. The One, to him was Water. Philosophers after him offered similar explanations of the world, although their Oneness pointed to different things.
Rationalism: Socrates and Plato were disillusioned by the conflicting answers and theories put forward by philosophers before them regarding the nature of world. Plato shifted his attention to study man’s ability to acquire knowledge. He was convinced that there are unchanging and universal truths, which human reason is capable of grasping. This line of thinking resulted in Western rationalism that plays a significant role in facilitating the advancement of sciences and technologies in the West.
It is said that the creation of modern science in the seventeenth century has solved the problem of learning about the nature of the universe. But we have yet to solve the problems of man’s place in it and learning how to become civilized. This would put us in a situation of great danger.
Life-world: Husserl introduced the concept of life-world 1936 to stress the solidness of the human encapsulation in reality. The life-world is a social, political, historical, and cultural environment where human beings interpret, communicate, and socially engage in multiple communal spheres.
Heidegger articulated it with the notion of ‘Being-in-the-world’, which stands for a unitary phenomenon and needs to be seen as a whole. That means to be human is to be embedded and immersed in the physical, tangible day to day world.

王国维：学无中西 Wang Guowei: Learn Both Chinese & Western Cultures

美学还没从西方传入中国之前，古代中国没有美学。在廿世纪，有不少重要美学家把西方的美学著作翻译或改编而引进中国，为中国美学的发展做出了巨大贡献。
回顾当年，我们发现不少美学家对中西文化的态度是正面的。因此，他们不但有意识的学习西方美学理论，还积极的更生中国美学和尝试把中国传统美学现代化。
王国维(1877–1927)，就是这样的一个学者。他是当时一个优秀的中国美学家，可说是第一个把西方美学介绍到中国的人。
他在‘国学丛刊’序中写道：
所谓学无新旧、无中西、无有用无用之说，可得而详焉.....
世界学问，不出科学、史学、文学。故中国之学，西国皆有之，西国之学，我国亦类皆有之；所异者，广狭疏密耳.....
余谓中西二学，盛则俱盛，衰则俱衰，风气既开，互相推助。
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Before the concept of Aesthetics was introduced to China from the West, it was not an academic discipline on its own. The During the 20th century, there were many important aestheticians in China who made great contributions to the development of this subject by translating or adapting the Western aesthetic works into Chinese.
Looking back, it is noticeable that the attitude of most of the aestheticians at that time were positive towards both Chinese and foreign cultures. As such, they not only consciously learned the western modern aesthetic theory, they also actively revived and attempted to modernise the Chinese traditional aesthetics.
Wang Guowei (1877–1927) is one of such scholars. Wang Guowei was among the best during his time for the studies of ancient aesthetics in China, probably was the first person to introduce Western meixue to China.
His said in his Foreword to the Journal of Chinese Studies that:
It is clear that the nature of learning has nothing to do with making a distinction between the modern and the classical, the western and Chinese, or the useless and the useful…….
Human knowledge in the world is basically contained in such disciplines as science, history and literary studies. These studies exist in both China and western nations. The only difference is that they vary in the degree of depth and superficiality.
I would say that Chinese and western studies cannot be done without each other in terms of their respective rise and fall. There is a need to promote both to the extent that they thrive and decline in a synchronous fashion.