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.