A Study On The Ancient Artistic Function Of China

As one of the key points of art theory study,ancient Chinese art functions presented their individual perspectives on these among artists during various historical periods throughout ancient China through comprehensive investigations on the different types of art using strategies such as art theory and related interdisciplines.With a long history span of ancient China,such aspects as social lifestyle,political economy and cultural ethos had a profound impact on the introduction,development and vicissitudes of art functions in different times.Art served as a special spiritual product mainly to satisfy one's aesthetic demand,along with other secondary values.Here,the research into ancient Chinese art mainly consists of the following five parts: Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties,Wei,Jin,Northern and Southern Dynasties,Sui and Tang and Five Dynasties,Song and Yuan Dynasties,Ming and Qing Dynasties.1.Ethical culture-oriented ritual music functionThe Chinese theory of art in ancient times dated back to the Pre-Qin period in a miscible artistic form covering poetry,music and dance.In this period,the first peak of the classical Chinese art in music and dance came into being as a guideline for governance through a combination of ritual and music.The ritual strengthened the social hierarchy and interpersonal feelings and became internal conscious from external norms via music civilization.Therefore,the civilization function played the main role during the period.However,the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods witnessed the collapsed rites and music.Being fully aware of the function and value of the art,Confucius comprehensively summarized multifunctional art and profoundly influenced successors.Afterwards,further development of pre-Qin Confucianism in the Han Dynasty enabled the conceited Confucianism of Han Dynasty and at this time made more vibrant well-established Confucian view of art function centering around the educational function.2.Aesthetic function with the main orientation of Purging heart and realizing the "Dao"(the highest truth of the universe)In the Wei,Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties,the dissolution of the ruling institutions and social orders caused by social unrest liberated one's thinking and individuality greatly.The artists advocated expressing personal feelings and discovering real life meanings and values from self-nature.Therefore,“Self-indulgence” governed the attitude to life and art,leaving their aesthetic ideals and tastes prominent.Until this period,poetry,music,calligraphy and painting were not considered as aesthetic objects to reveal the essence of art in depth and truly became the “art of beauty”.Disengagement of various kinds of arts from ethics and education led to vicissitude of the original Confucian tradition including suspicion ofthe notion “judging honour or disgrace from morality” and gradual substitution of entertainment and aesthetic function of art for its former role.3.Education function armed on conveying truth by literatureThe Sui,Tang and Five Dynasties witnessed agreement of its all functions by virtue of commonality between the various categories of art.First,return of Confucianism and emphasis on ritual music spirit enabled social educational function of music art to be attentive.Second,the Sui,Tang and Five Dynasties were characterized by abundant aesthetic experiences,which are well-documented in poems and treatise with highlighted aesthetic functions.Third,the implementation of the imperial examination system was an important external factor for art activities and creative forms of the Tang Dynasty's intelligentsia.Thereby,“Intellect selection by calligraphy” acted as a talent criterion to encourage social function of the art.4.Double function targeted on the interest and charm of New-ConfucianismIn the Song and Yuan Dynasties,civilization and entertainment developed in parallel.Neo-Confucianism had grown up to strengthens the ethical function of art and to view morality as its main body in the culture–morality relationship and to emphasizes the culture's virtue value.On the other hand,the entertaining atmosphere of the citizen class accelerated transition of aesthetic concepts and artistic ideas.Similarly,artists prefered to highlight popularization and entertainment function of art rather than serve as a tool to express morality.Moreover,the genuine literati class came into being at this period.Literati stress personality,subject consciousness and freedom of expression which was exemplified by footloose art creation.In a word,in the period,the aesthetic transcendence deserved a development milestone in the art history with a relatively autonomous development of aesthetic function through its subtraction from rules and regulations of the traditional Confucianism for self-presentation,self-discipline and innovation.5.Emotion-conveying function with mood and feeling naturallyThe Ming and Qing Dynasties presented a highly developed and mature ancient Chinese art with the alternative educational function of classical art.In the late Ming Dynasty,the rise of romanticism,the combination of feelings and morality and common tastes in the art activities enabled the literati artists to focus on entertainment and true feelings in the artistic creation.They highlighted individual spirits and emotions in the opposition between subject and society as well as emotion and reason.As a result,the artists roamed elegant and vulgar with their emotions buried in all kinds of art.Therefore,lyrical function of art predominated in this period and featured as an director for Chinese modern and contemporary artistic functions.