The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition

Chinese and Canadian teachers implement a hybrid Sino-Canadian curriculum: A multiliteracies perspective

“…For them, practicing calligraphy was not mechanical repetitions of the written language; it was instead a conventional literacy practice, which embodied Chinese cultural heritage. Passionate about practicing calligraphy, we shared in interviews our appreciation of the rhythms of movement in traces of calligraphy, idiosyncratic personalities as shown in calligraphy, and the kinaesthetic aspects of writing (See also Li, 2010). Mr Ma actively involved SCS students in calligraphy practices, as he regretted the fact that over a millennium of "heritage" has been trivialized by the global spread of new literacies (e.g., software on cell phones and computers that allows students to use the Western alphabet to type Chinese characters phonetically).…”

An Eco-poetic Approach to Architecture Across Boundaries

“…Poetic in character, Chinese aesthetics had maintained a strong link to the ancient rites [21]. The complexity of relations that is described in ancient Chinese philosophical texts is mirrored in Chinese traditional art, where a similar fluidity of concepts appears to be at work.…”

“…Philosophical thought in China has been strongly influenced by Western aesthetics. While many Chinese and overseas Chinese philosophers have linked Western and Asian aesthetics, e.g., famously Li Zehou [21], this thought has not transcended into the discipline of architecture. Architecture, in China, is viewed primarily as a technical discipline, and thus the influence of art and aesthetics has been very limited.…”

“…Handscroll, ink and colour on silk, 35.6 x 104.4 cm. Gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by John M. Crawford Jr. in honor of Douglas Dillon, 1981.oriented towards fixed ideals and absolutes, Chinese traditional painting attempts to emphasise the vitality of nature, vagueness, and change[14,21,43]. When Western art emphasised the genius author as a mediator to an understanding of the world, Chinese art de-emphasised the presence of the author as mediator.…”

In search of an aesthetic pathway: young children's encounters with drama

“…Aesthetics in the West is traditionally a subject of inquiry (Smith, 1970) related to the natural beauty of nature (Kant, 1790(Kant, / 2000. Within a Chinese context, aesthetics is educational (Li, 2010) and it consists of a socially based self-consciousness (Confucius, 500 B.C./2000). Thus, the Chinese concept on aesthetics always aligns with ethics education (Chi, 1995).…”