Shi Aesthetic Thought Study

The shih-shuo hsin-yu is a true portrayal of Wei-Chin(220-420) spirit, which is the reflection and the symbol of conduct, personality, value, dignity and aesthetic ideal of noted persons in Wei-Chin periods. It compiled by the Liu-Sung(420-479) prince of Liu I ch'ing(403-444) and his staff around A.D.430, and the shih-shuo hsin-yu consists of more than 1,130 historical anecdotes about elite life in the late Ch'in(221-206B.C.) and Wei-Chin periods. Together, these beautifully written and artfully constructed anecdotes express what came to be known as the " aesthetics in Wei-Chin periods. " What does the shih-shuo hsin-yu reveal about the aesthetic ideal embodied in it? Satisfactory answer to this require new ways of thinking about, and I try to do this in my dissertation.Foreward: Have reviewed research history and present situation of the aesthetic ideal of the shih-shuo hsin-yu mainly, and then I make and commend on them.The first part: I do overall description to the aesthetic form of the shih-shuo hsin-yii from three different angles and drew a preliminary conclusion: The core of the aesthetic ideal of the shih-shuo hsin-yii is the beauty of people's spirit.The second part: The preliminary conclusion that I had drawn in the first part was put in the wide intellectual history background at that time to examine its accuracy. Through to the discussion of the question of four intellectual histories, I prove my conclusion further.The third part: Through comparing the beauty of people's spirit with the beauty of Nature in the shih-shuo hsin-yii, I deepen further. At last, I believed firmly further after I compare my conclusion with aesthetics in Wei-Chin periods.Conclusion: The core of the aesthetic ideal of the shih-shuo hsin-yii is the beauty of people's spirit.