?(Author: Huang Keqing)A philosopher who covers all fields afterAristo
tle.Abstract:This paper is divided into five sections. The first
section discusses the dialectical relationship between nature and
human society, exploring the categories of natural beauty, socia
l beauty, and artistic beauty. The second section delves into the
sources of the sublime, including the sublime evoked by the vast
ness of space, volume, and power of natural objects; the sublime
inspired by human labor power (including mental labor); and the s
ublime arising from human moral strength. The third section prese
nts a comparative analysis of beauty and the sublime. The fourth
section discusses the realms where beauty exists and the relation
ship between these realms and the forms of beauty.Keywords: Natur
e, Human Society, Beauty, SublimityChapter 1：The Realm of Beautif
ul ThingsThe domains in which beauty exists are typically divided
into natural beauty, social beauty, and artistic beauty. Firstly
, I would like to clarify the boundaries of these three realms, t
hat is, their respective scopes. Beauty is a value that is based
on utility yet transcends it; value represents a relationship bet
ween the subject and the object. Therefore, beauty does not resid
e within the object itself; rather, the realm in which beauty exi
sts is more accurately the domain in which objects that evoke bea
uty reside. (In subsequent discussions, the realm of beauty will
be referred to simply as the domain of beauty, with natural beaut
y, social beauty, and artistic beauty actually referring to the a
spects of nature, society, and art that can evoke aesthetic feeli
ngs in the object.)We all live on the same planet, where we can v
iew Earth as either a whole within the natural world or as a whol
e within human society. The natural world existed before human so
ciety, completely unrelated to humanity, while human society has
only existed after the advent of humans. On this Earth, as part o
f the natural world, humans are just one species among many, not
appearing particularly significant; however, within the context o
f human society, humans are the masters here, currently ruling wi
th an overwhelming advantage. Yet if we were to stand outside the
Earth and look from a greater height, or rather, from the perspe
ctive of God, Earth is a complete entity, merely an inconspicuous
one among the countless minor planets in the Milky Way. Perhaps,
for the vast universe, the existence of humans is fundamentally
without any meaning. It''s just that humans are unwilling to think
this way. Humans prefer to regard their existence as more signif
icant and envision their future as brighter. This might explain w
hy, even with the high development of science and technology toda
y, people still need the comfort of religion and mythology. The c
onclusions of philosophy or science are often harsh. Therefore, f
or the universe, there is fundamentally no difference between the
natural world and human society. The distinction between the nat
ural world and human society is largely made for the convenience
of human understanding of the world, and the division of the real
m in which beauty exists confirms this need.The difference betwee
n natural beauty and social beauty lies in the difference in thei
r aesthetic objects: the aesthetic objects of natural beauty have
not been transformed by human practice activities. They are the
creations of nature. Unlike natural objects that cannot become ae
sthetic objects, these objects possess certain characteristics th
at allow them to become aesthetic objects without being transform
ed by human practices. These characteristics meet the subjective
needs of human purposes and emotions, which is precisely why they
become the aesthetic objects of humans.The aesthetic objects of
social beauty only appear after entering human society. Whether i
t is the social environment, labor products, or human beings them
selves, they are all components of human society. These objects a
re the results of human practice activities. Even human beings th
emselves are the results of their own practice activities.The aes
thetic object of artistic beauty is, of course, works of art. Str
ictly speaking, all works of art are the products of human labor,
and they also embody social beauty, belonging to a part of human
society. However, artistic beauty is an extremely important part
, which I will elaborate on in the subsequent text.Chapter 2: The
Origin of the SublimeIn the history of Western aesthetics, the c
oncept of the "sublime" as an aesthetic category was first propos
ed by Longinus. Later, in the 18th century, British empiricist ph
ilosopher Edmund Burke suggested that the sublime and the beautif
ul originate from two fundamental human passions: self-preservati
on and social interaction. Self-preservation is the foundation of
the sense of the sublime, and the concept of self-preservation i
s primarily evoked by pain and danger. Pain and danger threaten h
uman safety, evoking fear and awe, which constitute the main cont
ent of the sublime feeling. However, not all pain and danger can
evoke a sense of the sublime. "If the danger or pain is too immed
iate, they can produce no pleasure, but only horror. But unless t
hey are at some distance, or mitigated in some way, danger and pa
in can also become a source of pleasure." ①This statement is quit
e reasonable. When a child first encounters the scene of dark clo
uds covering the sky, with flashes of lightning and thunder, woul
d they feel a sense of awe? I think they would be scared by the i
ndescribable power of nature that comes suddenly, only feeling fe
ar and panic, seeking refuge in the arms of an adult. Only when t
hey understand that this indescribable power will not harm them w
ill they dispel some of their fear and panic, and then it becomes
possible to feel a sense of awe. Real danger and pain cannot pro
duce a sense of awe; in fact, people may be eliminated by danger
before they even have the chance to feel awe. However, without th
e fear and panic caused by danger and pain, the sense of awe will
also diminish.After experiencing numerous instances of lightning
and thunder, especially after reaching adulthood, the fear and t
error one feels in the face of such phenomena gradually become le
ss pronounced, and thus the sense of awe diminishes. This is beca
use, through repeated empirical observations, people have come to
understand that lightning and thunder do not pose a threat to th
em (as long as they are not in a dangerous location), and that th
ese are merely very common natural occurrences. Unless someone pe
rceives lightning and thunder as divine forces to be worshipped,
or imbues them with new meanings, the typical adult finds it diff
icult to experience a sense of awe from these phenomena, unless t
hey encounter lightning and thunder of unprecedented intensity an
d danger.In summary, the conditions for generating a sense of the
sublime are that danger and pain do not pose a real threat, yet
can produce a sufficient amount of fear and terror. Within this r
ange, a sense of the sublime can be generated, but this range is
not absolute, as each aesthetic subject can tolerate different le
vels of danger and pain. For example, Guan Yunchang could endure
the pain of having his bone scraped to remove poison, which is so
mething that an ordinary person would find difficult to do. In th
e midst of cruel and bloody wars, or during inhuman massacres, so
me people may become afraid, even to the point of mental breakdow
n, suicide; while others can overcome danger and pain, trampling
fear and terror underfoot, and take up arms to fight the enemy. S
ince each person''s tolerance for danger and pain varies, the meas
ure of what evokes a sense of the sublime rests within the aesthe
tic subject themselves. The more urgent the danger and pain, the
more intense the terror and awe, and thus the stronger the sense
of the sublime.Why do sublime aesthetic objects evoke a sense of
danger and pain in the aesthetic subject? They share a common cha
racteristic: the aesthetic objects possess an overwhelming advant
age over the aesthetic subject. These overwhelming advantages are
manifested in the vast volume and space, as well as the immense
power of natural objects, the labor power of humans (including me
ntal labor, i.e., the power of human wisdom, which will not be sp
ecified further in this text), and the moral strength of humans.
Aesthetic objects that inspire a sense of the sublime are widely
distributed in nature, human society, and artworks created by hum
ans.The overwhelming superiority of nature''s grandeur over the ae
sthetic subject is embodied in the vastness of form and space, as
well as immense power. For instance, the towering Mount Everest
and the boundless starry sky exemplify grandeur in size and infin
ity in space. Lightning and thunder represent the might of nature
, while the roaring sea, which not only demonstrates vastness in
space but also the immense energy it contains, evokes a complex s
ense of sublimity. However, why do these overwhelming aspects of
nature elicit feelings of danger and pain in humans? Burke once s
aid: "There is a disposition in mankind to be satisfied with them
selves, their opinions, and their works, and to make them the sta
ndard of everything." ②Humans are accustomed to using their own s
cale as a reference, and any entity that surpasses human imaginat
ion in any aspect will cause discomfort. This discomfort, manifes
ted mildly, is just a sense of depression; manifested intensely,
it becomes fear and terror. Therefore, when humans face the vast
spatial volume and immense power of natural aesthetic objects, th
ey feel fear, terror, and oppression.Whether it is fear, terror,
or merely oppression, all these feelings are painful and unpleasa
nt for humans. Because humans inherently prefer joy, they will in
evitably try every means to overcome these factors that cause pai
n and displeasure. Typically, we believe that only through human
practice can we transform nature, making it serve humanity, and t
his is considered the conquest of nature. However, I must say: ov
ercoming fear, terror, and repression, these psychological discom
forts, is in itself a victory over nature, because these feelings
of fear, terror, and repression, are all caused by nature. If yo
u overcome them, it is a victory over nature. Even if you haven''t
completely overcome them, and have only overcome a part, it is s
till a kind of victory. And Burke believed: the sense of the subl
ime is a pleasure mixed with pain. He seemed to have sensed this
point vaguely, that people often find it difficult to completely
overcome these painful and unpleasant psychological discomforts.
Because only the pain and unpleasantness that have been overcome
can be transformed into pleasure, while the part that has not bee
n overcome will still remain as pain. Therefore, the sense of the
sublime is often a pleasure mixed with pain, and it is almost im
possible for it to be complete pleasure.Man overcomes discomfort
caused by fear, terror, and oppression, which is a victory over n
ature. But how does this victory transform into pleasure? In Burk
e''s view: the sense of the sublime not only includes fear and ter
ror but also admiration and reverence. However, he mistakenly bel
ieves that "fear is the most intense effect of the sublime, and t
he secondary effects are admiration and reverence."③ The reason h
e is mistaken is that he regards nature as the object of admirati
on and reverence. In fact, what we admire and revere is ourselves
- the power of humanity. Because when we overcome fear, terror,
and oppression, it is a victory over nature, and in this victory
over nature, we embody the greatness and power of humanity. It is
precisely for this reason that Burke did not realize that admira
tion and reverence arise from overcoming fear and terror; hence,
he did not understand that the admiration and reverence for our o
wn selves – the power of humanity – is the direct source of pleas
ure and sublimity. In this regard, Kant had a deeper understandin
g than Burke: "The feeling of the sublime in nature is actually r
everence for our own mission, which we transfer to natural object
s through a kind of ''sleight of hand'' (Subreption) – we exchange
respect for the concept of humanity in the subject for respect fo
r the object."④We have discussed the boundless starry sky, the fl
ashing lightning and thunder, the roaring and raging sea—these ar
e all sublime aspects of nature, constituting a part of natural b
eauty. The reason they evoke feelings of joy and sublimity in peo
ple is that: in overcoming the fear, terror, and oppression cause
d by natural phenomena, humans come to admire and revere their ow
n strength. However, this kind of overcoming is passive. Only whe
n humans transform nature through practical activities and make n
ature serve humanity do they actively conquer nature. The sublimi
ty evoked by this is even more intense. The objects that cause th
is kind of sublimity are those that reflect the great power of hu
man labor and the great power of human morality.Sometimes social
beauty is mistakenly regarded as natural beauty: "The South Gate
of Heaven on Mount Tai was originally the creation of laborers, b
ut under the conditions of private ownership, human power was ali
enated into the power of gods. The South Gate of Heaven should ac
tually be called the ''Gate of Conquest of Heaven.'' A poem says: ''
A giant hand supports the gate of heaven, with seven thousand lay
ers of jade steps; the people who carved the rocks back then shou
ld be the ones who conquered heaven; sweat wets the blue rocks, t
he wind stirs the sound of thousands of pines; leaving behind a s
tele without words, leisurely accompanying the white clouds.'' It
was the diligent and brave people of all generations who built th
e stone steps into the clouds, whether it be Mount Huang or Mount
Hua, opening a path on the steep cliffs, leading straight to the
summit, which itself is a conquest of nature. Therefore, climbin
g to the top of the mountain is not only to appreciate the boundl
ess beauty of nature, but also to affirm the power of humanity."
⑤This text correctly affirms that the South Heavenly Gate and the
Cloudy Stone Steps are creations of the working people, not of g
ods. However, it is extremely incorrect for the author to discuss
the South Heavenly Gate and the stone steps, which were created
by the working people, as natural beauty. The aesthetic object of
natural beauty is that which has not been transformed by human p
ractice. The South Heavenly Gate and the stone steps are creation
s of the working people, and thus belong to the beauty of human s
ociety.The South Heavenly Gate and the stone steps are the produc
ts of human labor. The overwhelming advantage they possess over t
he aesthetic subject is the result of human labor. When you stand
at the South Heavenly Gate, you will marvel at the power of the
working people. You seem to see tens of thousands of ancient labo
rers risking their lives to climb the cliffs and open up the spec
tacular scene of Cloudy Heaven Stone Steps. At the same time, you
will feel inferior, and you will feel how insignificant your own
strength is. The ancient people''s labor force has an overwhelmin
g advantage over you, but this overwhelming advantage may not bri
ng you too much fear and horror, but just feel oppressed. At the
same time of being oppressed, you will feel envious and respectfu
l of the ancient people''s labor force, thus pleasure and grandeur
are produced. Similarly, this grandeur is also a kind of pleasur
e mixed with pain, which is indeed painful and happy.The South Ga
te of Heaven and the stone steps represent the sublime beauty of
society. However, Mount Tai also possesses natural beauty; its ma
in peak rises abruptly from the ground, towering into the clouds,
epitomizing the limitless grandeur of nature; its mountain strea
ms and secluded paths are equally picturesque and serene. Mount T
ai embodies both natural and societal beauty, which we commonly r
efer to as natural scenery and cultural landscapes—these represen
t different emphases on natural and societal beauty. For instance
, the majestic Mount Everest and the picturesque Jiuzhaigou are p
rimarily natural beauties, largely unaltered and undecorated by h
uman hands; whereas the Three Gorges and the Gezhouba Dam are ent
irely creations of labor, mainly reflecting societal beauty; Moun
t Huang, Mount Hua, and Mount Tai alike, possess both societal an
d natural beauty.In human society, there exists a noble manifesta
tion of moral strength within individuals. Analogous to how labor
power is often embodied in the products of labor, moral strength
is frequently directly embodied in individuals themselves. The n
obility that reflects moral strength is often presented in a more
concentrated form—tragedy. Lu Xun stated, "Tragedy shows the des
truction of valuable things in life."⑥ By "valuable things," he r
efers to those of moral value, such as justice and kindness. Trag
edy evokes a sense of the sublime through the temporary, localize
d destruction or damage of justice and kindness, and even through
the extinguishing of life.When we saw Dong Cunrui blowing up the
bunker with an explosive bag in his hand, and Qiu Shaoyun endure
d the severe pain of burning himself without revealing the target
, the first thing we felt was fear and terror, because we would c
ompare ourselves with others. Everyone asks themselves in their m
inds: If it were me, would I be able to do it? But it would be un
just not to do so. After all, this is something that ordinary peo
ple cannot do, and we cannot accept the fact that we need to defe
nd justice with our lives. We will have infinite admiration and r
everence for the moral strength of the hero, so that in the midst
of this excruciating pain, we will also have a sense of pleasure
and nobility.But in the face of justice, the defeat and destruct
ion of goodness, not everyone will have a sense of nobility. "Wit
hout the evolution and development of moral concepts, it is an ob
ject of exaltation for the cultured, but terrible for the uneduca
ted." (7) This should have at least two implications: first, ther
e are people who do not have a sense of justice and do not know h
ow to judge moral values, so it is impossible for them to admire
and revere great moral forces, and how can they have a sense of n
obility? Second, some people''s moral values are negative, anti-hu
man, anti-justice, anti-good. For example, Hitler and Hideki Tojo
, who are eager to completely destroy justice and goodness with t
heir own hands, how can they have a sense of nobility? Therefore,
only those who have justice and goodness in their hearts will ha
ve a sense of nobility.Chapter 3：The Relationship between Beauty
and SublimityThe first part of this article discussed the realms
in which beauty exists and used this to categorize natural beauty
, social beauty, and artistic beauty. Now, I will analyze the rea
lm of artistic beauty. The aesthetic objects of artistic beauty a
re works of art. All art pieces are the products of human labor p
ractices, creations of human labor. Many of these art pieces are
very difficult to produce, and through them, we see the greatness
of human labor power. Therefore, a sense of sublimity is also ge
nerated. This sense of sublimity is inspired by admiration and re
verence for the labor power of the artist, not the sublime portra
yed by the art itself. Thus, it belongs to the category of social
beauty. However, people often do not initially pay attention to
the labor capabilities of art creators because this sense of subl
imity is overshadowed by another more concentrated and intuitive
beauty.---- In the glow of artistic beauty, some things appear so
mewhat dim, just as we struggle to see stars beside the sun. Ther
efore, when appreciating art, aesthetes are often captivated by t
he beauty of art, overlooking the hard work of the creators. Only
when they look back do they marvel at the creators'' labor, genui
nely feeling admiration and reverence, and only then do they expe
rience this sense of sublimity. All works of art are first and fo
remost the products of human labor. Wherever artistic beauty is e
mbodied, social beauty can also be reflected. So what is the diff
erence between the labor products that are works of art and those
that are not? The difference lies in the fact that works of art
reproduce and express the beauty of nature and human society.So w
hat is the relationship between beauty and sublimity? There have
been many perspectives on this point in the history of aesthetics
. "Therefore, the pleasure derived from the sublime in nature is
only negative (in contrast, the pleasure from beauty is positive)
." ⑧ Kant emphasized the difference between the sublime and beaut
y in terms of aesthetic experience; the sublime is a pleasure mix
ed with pain, while beauty is a simple pleasure. At the same time
, Kant also stressed that "beauty and the sublime are consistent
in one aspect, that is, both are pleasing in themselves." ⑨ Altho
ugh both produce a sense of pleasure, why is the sublime a pleasu
re mixed with pain, while beauty is a simple pleasure? The crux l
ies in the fact that beauty is harmonious, while sublimity is dis
harmonious. Any object that evokes a sense of beauty possesses ch
aracteristics of harmony. Concepts such as simplicity and uniform
ity, symmetry and balance, harmony and contrast, rhythm and rhyme
, diversity and unity are all forms that elicit a sense of harmon
y. On the other hand, majestic objects in nature often inspire aw
e and fear, their forms being disharmonious. However, the disharm
ony of the sublime is a relative harmony. When the subject overco
mes fear and danger, a relative harmony is achieved between the s
ubject and the object. If beauty represents a static harmony with
out external force, then sublimity is like two opposing forces of
equal magnitude keeping an object at rest, which is also a form
of relative harmony.Chapter4： The Relationship between the Sphere
s of Beauty and the Forms of BeautyIn some aesthetic objects, bea
uty from different realms is included. I have already analyzed Mo
unt Tai in the previous text; it encompasses both natural and soc
ial beauty, and of course, it also possesses a bit of artistic be
auty. West Lake is a creation of nature, yet it has also been cra
fted and created by artists; it is a perfect combination of natur
al and artistic beauty. However, it also contains some elements o
f social beauty, but mainly it is natural and artistic beauty. As
for the Empire State Building, it is a product of contemporary l
aborers'' creation, which naturally evokes a sense of grandeur; at
the same time, it is also a piece of art.As individuals constitu
ting the main body of society, people are first and foremost natu
ral beings. Democritus said, "The beauty of the body, if not comb
ined with intelligence and talent, is something animalistic."⑩ Th
e human body is a biological entity, hence it is inherently natur
al. The beauty of the body is natural beauty (of course, except f
or those who have undergone cosmetic surgery). However, the human
body also bears the imprint of human practical activities. The d
istinction of the human body from that of ancient apes and homini
ds is the result of human practice. At least: Humanity has made i
tself stand upright----this alone should fill every person of val
ue with an infinite sense of nobility. If we add clothing, adornm
ents, and various decorations, a person becomes a work of art, an
d artistry is born. Therefore, the human body encompasses natural
beauty, social beauty, and artistic beauty.True goodness is the
absolute prerequisite for beauty. Some people say: Some unkind pe
ople are very beautiful, but that''s because they haven''t distingu
ished the three different realms of beauty that everyone possesse
s. If a person is unkind, it only means they do not possess the b
eauty induced by moral strength, but it does not prevent them fro
m having the natural beauty or artistic beauty inherent in their
appearance. By clarifying the three realms of beauty that everyon
e has, we will no longer be confused, and we will understand that
true goodness is the absolute prerequisite for beauty.Artistic b
eauty is undoubtedly superior to natural and social beauty, but d
oes this mean that a person''s external beauty is more important t
han their internal beauty? Clearly, the answer is no, because wha
t is most important about a person is not their existence as an a
esthetic object, but rather their role as the master of human soc
iety. Each person''s primary mission is to create, to self-actuali
ze, to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty, rather than to be admi
red by others or wait for others to admire them. A person''s socia
l value, that is, their role in society, is determined by their l
abor power and moral strength ---- that is, their abilities and c
haracter.The criteria we use to evaluate a person''s social value
are: possessing both virtue and talent, and having both moral int
egrity and artistic excellence. If we consider a person as an aesthetic object, we should focus on external beauty; if we consider a person as a member of society, then we should focus on internal beauty. Of course, the ideal person is the unity of truth, goodness, and beauty.Annotations:① Burke''s "On the Sublime and Beautiful," as cited in Zhu Guangqian''s "History of Western Aesthetics," page 231, Beijing, People''s Literature Publishing House, 2003.② Burke''s "Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful," as cited in "Classical Literary Theory Translation Series," Volume 5, page 45, Beijing, People''s Literature Publishing House, 1961.③ As in note ①, page 236④ Zhu Guangqian''s "History of Western Aesthetics," page 371, Beijing, People''s Literature Publishing House, 2003⑤ Yang Xin, Gan Lin, and Liu Rongkai''s "Principles of Aesthetics," page 109, Beijing, Peking University Press, 1989⑥ "Complete Works of Lu Xun," Volume 1, page 297, Beijing, People''s Literature Publishing House, 1957⑦ Kant''s "Critique of the Power of Judgment," translated by Zong Baihua, page 105, Beijing, Commercial Press, 1964⑧ As in note ⑦, page 110⑨ As in note ⑦, page 83⑩ "Western Aestheticians on Beauty and Aesthetic Sensibility," pages 16-17, Beijing, 1980References: Zhu Guangqian, A History of Western Aesthetics (M), Beijing, People''s Literature Publishing House, 2003. Aesthetics Teaching and Research Office, Department of Philosophy, Peking University, Western Aestheticians on Beauty and Aesthetic Sensation (C), Beijing, Commercial Press, 1980. Compilation Committee of Classical Literary Theory, Compilation of Translations on Classical Literary Theory (C), Issue 5, Beijing, People''s Literature Publishing House, 1961. Immanuel Kant, Critique of the Power of Judgment (M), translated by Zong Baihua, Beijing, Commercial Press, 1964. |
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