A Study Of Wang Guo-wei And Zhu Guang-qian's Theories Of Tragedy

This dissertation mainly analyses and discusses Wang Guo-wei and Zhu Guang-qian' s theories of tragedy, and does a comparative study of them under, the background of Chinese aesthetic modernity in the 20th century.The theories of tragedy are the main realm both in Wang Guo-wei and Zhu Guang-qian's early aesthetic investigation .In the first two parts of the thesis, the author separately comment on Wang Guo-wei and Zhu Guang-qian's conceptions toward tragedy. Wang Guo-wei is the first scholar who comments Chinese literature with western philosophic and esthetic theories. The author argues that Wang Guo-wei shows his attitudes about tragedy in a lot of early works of him. His thoughts were deeply influenced by some western theorist, especially Schopenhauer, but he didn't accept all of the western theories without choice, conversion and refuse. However, Wang used a series of special concepts describing his thoughts toward the source and nature of tragedy, the aesthetic perception of tragedy, the value and usefulness of tragedy and the tragic view of life in his represents to some Chinese literary works and writers. Wang's theories of tragedy have a significance of metaphysics and have some new idea, though he had not found a logic theory system.Zhu Guang-qian is a modern esthetician who penetrates into studying tragedy after Wang Guo-wei. He analysis the problem of tragic pleasure from the angle of pure theory, which different from the other writers of. the same period who mainly concentrate on the social and political value of tragedy. Making comments and judgments on much kind of western theories, Zhu constructed a set of doctrines oftragedy through making use of the method of psychology aesthetics. Even so, Zhu Guang-qian's doctrines of tragedy still closely related with the concepts and methods of philosophy. The article particularly investigated the relationships between Zhu Guang-qian's theories of tragedy and Nietzsche's aesthetics, pointed out Zhu's dissertation The Psychology of Tragedy were profoundly influenced by Nietzsche's book The Birth of Ttragedy.The third part of the article focuses on a comparative study of Wang Guo-wei and Zhu Guang-qian's theories of tragedy in the background amidst the tide of western learning entering into China and Chinese modern aesthetics coming into being. Tough Wang and Zhu's theories didn't have real relationships of influence; they had some common tendencies in the background, modes and some acceptances, which demonstrate the different attitudes toward western leanings in their period. In point out their similarity, the thesis also differentiates and analyzes the specialty of Wang Guo-wei and Zhu Guang-qian's theories of tragedy. The author argues that both Wang and Zhu's theories, which based on communicating western and Chinese aesthetics, show the irreplaceable as well as complimentarily features. They enriched the modern Chinese literature and aesthetic leanings together, and provide us a profound enlighten to review and conclude the experiences of Chinese aesthetic modernity.