• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
• /
• no.32
• /
• pp.309-336
• /
• 2011

There were various linking points that connect Li xue(Neo-Confucianism) to aesthetics in Song Dynasty as following. 1. The traditional moral as "pursuing pleasure of Kong-zi and Yan Hui" 2. Esteem of "life and vitality". Scholars of Li xue in Song regarded the pleasure of acting up to "benevolence" as a beauty, and this benevolence originated in the "heaven and earth; the universe". "Benevolence", that is to say, is name of the nature that continuous reproduction breed in an endless succession by "Yin-Yang the universe", thus the natural "life and vitality" of the "heaven and earth" as the matter of course is the perfect beauty. 3. An idea of "serene contemplation". Originally the "serene contemplation" belongs to discipline of "Li xue", however simultaneously this conception was entirely applicable to aesthetic point of view. 4. Cosmological consciousness. In the same manner, the "pleasure" which is moralistic and moreover aesthetic is indivisible from cosmic contemplation itself. Because of this point, the art and aesthetics of Song Dynasty self-consciously had the cosmological consciousness in its fullness. 5. Respect of beauty of nature. Scholars of "Li xue" considered as : no matter what "Li" or "Qi" that producing all things is "coming of itself", that is by no means artificially operated or prearranged in advance. Such standpoint was applied to creative art and made art of Song Dynasty esteem beauty of nature (coming of itself) exceedingly. 6. Laying stress on "disposition". Scholars of "Li xue" ordinarily valued much of "disposition of a sage", consequently this tendency influenced on aesthetics. "disposition" indicates the whole impression that one who has appearance and the inside(personality, temper, thought, etc.) gives to others. By putting that impression into practice of art and literature, it is to materialize the works of art as a unity of form and subject, also as an expression of human existence that breathed into one's sensibility on the whole. 7. Principles of "completing inquiry", "study the laws of nature by close access" of "Li xue". These principles made art and literature of Song Dynasty take a serious view of "Li" of all over the universe, so made them close investigate things, and after all have achieved very remarkable characteristic in art and literature, especially in paintings of Song Dynasty. Theory of painting in Song Dynasty had occupied considerably high position in Chinese aesthetic history. It was positively superior to former generations no matter what in quantity or in theoretical minuteness and its systematic level. Undoubtedly the Chinese theory of painting had been achieving development time after time since Song Dynasty. However if we could make a comparison it with every single period (ex. Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties), there is no prominent period than Song Dynasty in theory of paintings. Song period had number of essays of Landscape painting.