| According to the present situation and existing problems of the Japanese aestheticism studied by both China and Japan academic circles, this article, combining the study results of the various experts and scholars on the basis of the firsthand material, gives a systematic and profound analysis of the ideological roots and spiritual features of the Japanese aestheticism in the framework of the modern society, thought and literary history in Japan. Judging by theoretical basis, historical facts and text analysis, the article gives a brief account of the origin and development of the aestheticism school, making the question of the vagueness of the origin clear. Taking three representative writers, NAGAI KAFU, TANIZAKI JYUNITIROU, SATOU HARUO as the object of the study, the author analyzes their literary career and summarizes their outlook on life, value and art, which reflects the value and meaning of the aestheticism school on modern Japanese literature history. The author also makes an objective and fair evaluation for the school.First is about the question of the root causes and essential thoughts of the Japanese Aestheticism literature. The essence is the decadent outlook of life and value. It originates from Japan Romanticism and it is the product of the disillusionment of modern Romanists. Meanwhile, the Aestheticism literature has a blood relationship with the Japanese Naturalism literature.Japan Romanticism rose from the end of Meiji Restoration, which was not a complete bourgeois revolution. Feudal political system and Capitalist economy coexisted. For the Meiji government's most powerful planning and organization, Japan built the special form of capitalist society from top to bottom. In this special social pattern, the Japanese Romanists had to be aware of the fact that they couldn't achieve their individualism. Low spirited, suffering, they tried their best to find the way out, however, they failed in the disillusionment of the ideal and the loss of the enthusiasm. The revolutionary and rebellion of the romanticism declined and failed without completing its mission. Romanticism broke up under the heavy pressure of the nationalism, losing the advanced ideal and positive pursuing completely. The Romanticism declined finally. Moreover, the science thought in 1930, Meiji period did not mature and hadn't formed its own scientific and philosophical system, as a result of which the natural, scientific and philosophical theories couldn't be used by the Japanese Naturalism writers to guide literature. Therefore, the connotation of"truthfulness"requested by western naturalism was misunderstood by Japan Naturalism writers. The Japan Naturalism literature confined itself to self-confession, self-repentance and the records of personal life. They thought that truthful exposure of private life, especially the aspect of human's biological features, was the only way leading to self-establishment. They gradually tired of exposing the ugliness of the human beings, trapping into a state of despair of self-establishment and falling into the mire of self-negation. At last the naturalists drew a conclusion that human beings are only weak animals. The human beings were manipulated by destiny. Although people pursue liberation, they become helpless in the face of the forces of the nature. When human beings can't command their own lives, they got decadent life and world outlook. So naturalism sank into impasse.Facing the Romanists'mental crisis and the human predicament put forward by Naturalists, the Anesthetists didn't actively shoulder the historic mission of overcoming the plight. On the other hand, they took the easier job to console themselves under the name of"art for art's sake". They paid more attention to the sensory hedonism, pursuing sensory stimulation and sensual beauty. They both broke the boundaries of the beauty and excitement and smashed the rules of moral and conscience. They pursued extreme super-moral libertinism delight, falling into the state of obscenity and vulgarity. The Aesthetic school had the same strain with the Naturalism literature on such questions as life and world outlook. It inherited the naturalism mechanical materialism, advocating functionalism. The true meaning of the so-called"anti-naturalism"was against the positivism. They proposed that they create an visionary and beautiful world based on imagination and illusion, seeking for pleasure and excitement at the emotional stimuli of the senses. Relying on the sick aesthetic ideas, reversal of pretty and ugly, they engaged in the subversion of the past aesthetic values so as to resolve the depression and boring. All in all, the Aestheticism school showed the same root but different form of expression, aesthetic ideas and creative principle when the Naturalism trapped into impasse. The gorgeous and grandeur art style of the Aestheticism literature brought the fresh air to the boring literary world. However, this kind of beauty couldn't maintain its vitality and sunk into the state of wilt and embarrassment at last. Secondly, we had a much more profound understanding for its characteristics by comparing the similarities and differences between the Aestheticism literature and western Aestheticism literary trends. There was a tacit understanding between the two no matter in the ideological roots or aesthetic concepts. The decadent empty life led the Aestheticism followers to the art. They would like to build an aesthetic construction where they dwelt. They followed instantism and hedonism, engaging in the pursuit of pleasure and stimulation. Aestheticism and decadence become the common features of all the aestheticism followers. However, the Japanese Aestheticism doesn't absorb the western literature completely. They don't copy others but draw lessons from the west. Prior to this, the modern Japanese intellectuals have their own expectation and understanding, which formed their outstanding characteristics reflected in the following three aspects:Firstly, Japan's Meiji Restoration couldn't have been built a modern country in the true meaning, so the modern literature has a very narrow vision, limiting itself to the small self world and paying no attention to the social reality. This tendency is very prominent at the end of the development of the naturalism literature. The naturalists can't put themselves and society in an opposite position to examine, hiding themselves in the self inner world, short of the thinking of the relationship among person, society and country. The features were inherited by Aestheticism school, as a result of which it formed such characteristics as pursuit of excitement caused by sensory stimulation, pursuit of the delicate art form and lack of thinking of social reality. Whereas western Aestheticism literary trends are in accordance with the alienation of the people originated from the spread utilitarianism and enlightenment. The poor rational world exerts heavy burden on them, so they have to turn to the art which shoulder the meaning of the life. Their extreme behavior and thought, decadence, aestheticism, abn ormal behavior and seeking for pleasure, are the reflection of their helplessness and struggling to the social reality. Therefore, the western Aestheticism literary trend has the profound connotation of humanism.Secondly, the Japanese Aestheticism literature is the extension of the Japanese Naturalism literature, so the extreme mechanical materialism of the Naturalism literature is inherited by the Aestheticism which has been represented on their aesthetic concept and seeking for the functionalism to get the sensory stimulation and excitement. The topics of sex and sexual psychology boast the meaning of humanistic significance and implication of the people, but Japanese Aestheticism followers would rather pay attention to the exaggeration of the sensory stimulation and the creation of the effect of the temptation in order to make the style colorful with sensory pleasures, losing the due solemnity and mental depth. Through comparison, the western Aestheticism literature values the irrationality, human instinct and emotion, regarding the sex and sexuality as the main theme of the literature. However, they aim at the depression and alienation of the human nature exerted by the rationalism. So they advocate the return of the human nature, which is not for the indulgence in the flesh. The conflict of the mental and flesh is what they really want to express. Then we can see that comparing with the western Aestheticism literature, the humanity feelings and life philosophy in Japanese Aestheticism go downwards and lack solemnity and profound influence.Thirdly, exoticness is one of the features of the Aestheticism literature. Most of the western exoticness expresses the vision and appreciation of the oriental arts, concerning more about the formal beauty. Oriental art has been looked on as the ideal art, the opposition of the utilitarianism, which was also used to fight against the western commercial society. Yet, the exoticness of the Japanese Aestheticism is different from the west. Their aesthetic concepts are deeply affected by traditional Japanese culture and aesthetics. They construct the"Art Utopia"on the basis of the traditional Japanese beauty, possessing traditional Japanese aesthetics beauty. What's more important is that their meaning of nostalgia and reminiscence is less profound than that in the west. They have the realistic meaning and rebellious spirit which was resulted from the fact that after the Meiji Restoration, the Japan government learned from the west, introducing and imitating the modern western civilization that caused the damage to the traditional Japanese civilization. So they incurred reminiscence of the past. What's more, the traditional customs and cultural relics, which were functioned as the decadent interests, leave in their heart and become one of the central parts of their interest.All in all, Aestheticism is in the essence the aesthetic and decadent attitude adopted by modern intellectuals when facing social history and realistic life. Aestheticism and decadence are the fundamental features. When facing the difficult question self-establishment put forward by modern naturalism literature, The Japanese Aestheticism followers took the easy job to seek for the trinity of solipsism, aestheticism and hedonism. They consoled themselves and sought for pleasure from the suffering, which kind of manner could not be understood. What's more serious, the Japanese Aestheticism writers transcended the boundaries of beauty and excitement, enjoying the sensory pleasure all the time, even returning to the Edo drama and some pornographic works. They created a number of seductive and vulgar love novels which were attacked by literary circles at that time and criticized by the descendents.There is one point we must pay attention to, that is, it is some excellent writers, such as NAGAT KAFUU, TANIZAKI JYUNITIROU and SATOU HARUO, instead of the low writers, who have the ability to stand for the accomplishment of Japanese Aestheticism. Facing the barriers of the modern Japanese literature, their thought could not transcend the decadent life and value outlook either. There were also twists and turns in their literary career. They paid much for the exploration of literature, but they didn't allow self-indulgence and let sensory pleasure emotions run wild. NAGAT KAFUU always lies in a position of criticism towards the modern Japanese civilization. He sighs with sadness the disappearing traditional civilization and possesses the deep decadent history and cultural thought. Comparing with NAGAI KAFU, SATOU HARUO had the tendency to the end of the century with heavy decadent awareness of individual life. He combined the flavor of aestheticism and decadence, relying on the symbolism, making the decadent awareness aestheticism and artistic. At the end of his life, he resorted to the traditional Japanese aesthetics and drew the conclusion of life attitude of Asian, that is, unconventional in life style, from which he got his place. Comparing with the other two, the decadent consciousness of TANIZAKI JYUNITIROU didn't express so profound and broad humanistic connotation. He emphasized on how to acquire effective expressing methods and techniques to implement his aesthetic concepts and satisfy his aesthetic taste and artistic ideal. So no matter the traditional or western pattern was used by him. With the increase of his life experience and the deep understanding of the connotation of beauty, he turned his western worship to traditional regression, giving up the emotional beauty caused by sensory stimulation. He began to stress on the delight of the spiritual pleasure so as to procure the experience of eternal beauty. In short, although their life attitude and art style are not healthy and solemn enough, they play and enjoy in the life and art with decadent hardship, they stress the elegant art and eternal beauty, and they explore constantly to seek for the elegance of the spiritual pleasure, showing the artistic skills of subdued balance and natural harmony. They are all Aestheticism followers with solemn artistic integrity and pursuits.From the end of the Meiji period to the early Dazheng, the development of the modern Japanese literature fell into the deadlock. The tendency of decadent hedonism represented by Aestheticism was very prominent at that time. In the sorrow of disillusionment, the people who could not find their way out had to turn to pursue the taste of the beauty and revel in it in order to get some life meaning. Surely, there are higher and lower levels, elegant and vulgar kinds in the beauty. And not all of them are supposed to have purity to bring people get rid of the decadence. The Aestheticism followers with artistic integrity dip themselves into the traditional Japanese culture to cultivate and conserve their aesthetic awareness. They mix the new modern literature and the old traditional literature together and make success. Although they haven't get rid of the decadent life outlook or solved the problems that modern literature faces, they have created works which can make people acquire aesthetic pleasure and mental enjoyment. In the depression and gloomy caused by Naturalism literature, they make people sense the artistic charm.Aestheticism literature breaks the boundaries of Naturalism literature in creative methods and aesthetic ideas. It seeks for artistic performance and attaches importance to the imagination and techniques, making beneficial exploration in aesthetic concepts and art creation. After many twists and turns, the modern Japanese literature temporarily falls into the clarity position brought by the art of Aestheticism. Although this is not the ultimate achievement of the modern literature, we can not deny the contributions that Aestheticism made to the modern Japanese literature.
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