Fang Dongmei’s View on the Spirit of Chinese Art

Fang Dongmei believed that the “Spirit of Chinese Art”originates from philosophy of life. His philosophy of life, on the one hand, is rooted in traditional Chinese life philosophy,and on the other hand, absorbs the life philosophy of modern western philosophers, thus establishing a theory of cosmic life based on the “virtue of life”. The “Spirit of Chinese Art”takes the “cosmic view”as the ontological premise and“life”as the ontological core, highlighting the praise and affirmation of life value in Chinese art. Meanwhile, the artistic ideals contained in Confucianism’s “participating in the transformation and nurturing” and “the creation of value in truth, goodness and beauty”, as well as Daoism’s “the transcendence of the Dao”and “the beauty of silence”, along with the artistic commonalities of “metaphysical nature outweighing scientific nature”, “symbolism”and “harmony with humanistic spirit”, constitute the traditional sources of the “Spirit of Chinese Art”. According to Fang Dongmei, Chinese art is the art of life and the art of transcendence, pursuing the ideal realm in the ceaseless cycle of life.