In the creation of the "image" of Chinese dance, we must pay attention to the aesthetic education function of "image". In other words, our dance creations must use artistic "images" to please and nourish the soul, so that the aestheticians can be cultivated in their spiritual realm. The reason why it is called aesthetic education is that it should be a kind of artistic "education" rather than compulsory education. The purpose of aesthetic education in Chinese art emphasizes "neutralization" and "perfect harmony". The so-called "neutralization" means that art should regulate the subject's heart and spirit. The so-called "harmony" means that art should make the subject's state of mind more peaceful and peaceful. The process of aesthetic education actually focuses on "enlightenment", which requires creators and appreciators to consciously integrate things and themselves and improve themselves in aesthetic appreciation.
In our dance creation, the goal of creating artistic images is also to edify and influence people's spiritual realm. The "image" in Chinese dance has the characteristics of aesthetic education, both in terms of Chinese artistic characteristics and body language characteristics. The emphasis is on using artistic images to impress the audience from the depth of their hearts, emotions and aesthetic forms. This is completely different from the compulsory moral education method commonly referred to. Chinese culture and art have a long tradition of emphasizing aesthetic education. For example, "Legends of Music? Theory of Music" says: "Music comes from the inside, and etiquette comes from the outside."
This means that "music" should come from people's hearts, and the feelings that move people should also come from the outside. It touches and infects people from the depths of their souls; and it clearly points out that the requirements of "ritual" on people are also an external norm. When it comes to the aesthetic education function of the "image" of Chinese dance, it should also penetrate into people's hearts through aesthetic methods and channels to achieve "enjoyment and nourishment" and regulate and improve the human spirit. At the same time, as far as aesthetic education is concerned, we should also pay attention to "controlling desire with reason".
Aesthetic education is originally meant to impress people by adapting to their perceptual desires, but people’s perceptual desires are easily indulged or uncontrolled, and the results often affect people’s physical and mental health, and there are also some ethical issues. problem. Therefore, in our artistic creation, we should also integrate "reason" into aesthetic education in order to control and guide people's perceptual desires and achieve spiritual cultivation and influence. As art workers, we should realize that excellent works of art can give people more positive energy, enable people to distinguish good from evil, and gain a normal emotional life and a correct attitude towards life. In "Letter on Aesthetic Education", Schiller believed that aesthetic education can correct the two extremes of people, namely the extreme of rudeness and the extreme of laziness and perverseness.
The use of aesthetics to influence people can be traced back to the ancient era of witchcraft and etiquette. At that time, people regarded "music" that integrated poetry, song, and dance as a kind of witchcraft, and used music and dance to influence people. This was the early form of aesthetic education we are talking about. Aesthetic education is also a way of cultivating one’s character, which can lead to natural and long-term development of one’s life. In the early Chinese "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals? Chongji", it was believed that music has this function of nourishing the soul, and later it gradually included art and aesthetics. Xunzi's explanation of aesthetic education in ancient times was "changing one's nature to create falsehood". The so-called "nature" refers to the innate natural essence and body functions of human beings, while "pseudo" refers to the external spiritual form developed on the basis of human natural essence, including abilities. In the ancient "Le Ji? Le Xiang", there is the theory of "righteousness", and its content embodies the principles of harmony and perfection.
The aesthetic education we advocate is to infect people through "righteousness" and enable the normal development of human nature. In fact, whether it is artistic creation activities or art appreciation activities, they themselves are also cultivating the subject's temperament and soul. Specifically, art creation activities also enable creators to gain spiritual freedom and enrichment, while art appreciation activities, to a certain extent, enable appreciators to gain self-reflection, soothe their own sentiments, and express their own interests.
Many famous thinkers in China and the West have very insightful views on aesthetic education. For example, Schiller in the West regarded aesthetic education as a path to perfecting personality; Wang Guowei called aesthetic education "emotional education"; Cai Yuanpei believed that aesthetic education is With "cultivating feelings as the purpose"; Zhu Guangqian classified aesthetic education as "pleasing emotions and cultivating one's nature"; and so on. The most common point among these views is that aesthetic education regulates and improves people's spirit and personality through aesthetics. It also shows that aesthetic education activities have a subtle influence on people.
In addition, the three schools of Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen in ancient China have their own views on aesthetic education, but they also have similarities. Confucianism believes that the purpose of aesthetic education is to liberate people's spirit and enter a state of harmony with heaven and earth.
He also believes that the aesthetic influence process should be integrated with reason, morality, and benevolence, so that the so-called realm of life can be achieved. Confucianism and Sun Tzu emphasize beauty, kindness and coordination, and the promotion of personality in the social environment; while Taoism pursues the ideal state of "the unity of nature and man", and achieves a deeper harmony between man and nature. Behind his cynicism, the Taoist Zhuangzi pursues breaking through the constraints and entering a carefree state. Zhuangzi grasped the spirit of the universe from an aesthetic and artistic perspective. His fable "The Cooking Ding Jie Niu" shows exactly this kind of aesthetic appreciation and artistic enjoyment.
The Zen Buddhism in China has a view on enlightenment through aesthetics, which has both religious traces and reflects some secular characteristics. Although it absorbs the essence of Indian Buddhism, it is still rooted in Chinese soil. Zen Buddhism believes that human nature is the nature of Buddha, and points out that as long as you cultivate yourself, you can "see your nature and become a Buddha." The "cultivation" mentioned in Zen Buddhism is to find the root cause of one's sins through "enlightenment", and then purify and liberate oneself. In short, Zen aesthetic education is full of love for life and closeness to nature. It can be seen that although China's Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen are different from each other, their aesthetic education thoughts have a common feature, that is, aesthetic education is a subtle "education" rather than a mandatory "education".
Looking at modern Chinese aesthetic education thought, its main characteristics are inheriting tradition and learning from the West, while also reflecting the spirit of the times and social requirements. For example, Mr. Cai Yuanpei emphasized that "cultivating emotions" is the purpose of aesthetic education, and believed that aesthetic education can not only stimulate people's creativity, but also enhance the value of life. The pioneer Liang Qichao believed that aesthetic education is a kind of "emotional education". He believed that the greatest weapon of this kind of education is art. "Emotion is the driving force behind all human actions." Another pioneer, Wang Guowei, emphasized the prosperity of literature and art as an important way to meet people's spiritual needs. He even believed that the perceptual characteristics of aesthetic education were entirely a charm.
Concerning the artistic image of Chinese dance, choreographers should also pay attention to its value and role in aesthetic education. The characteristics of dance's aesthetic education are that its artistic image has distinct perceptual characteristics and is centered on emotion. The dancing image should be pleasing to the eyes and ears, arouse the audience's excitement, and enhance people's spiritual realm. Generally speaking, the artistic image of any kind of art category should have its own higher artistic realm, and its aesthetic education function can promote the development of cognition and morality, and is by no means a tool for education or instruction. If we look specifically at the dance works we create, in the aesthetic process, the first thing that is displayed in front of people and the most attractive thing should be the perceptual image and perceptual form in dance.
In fact, human nature likes beautiful appearance and pleasant voices, etc. Aesthetic education begins in compliance with human nature. Of course, the image connotation of "beauty" should be rich and multi-faceted. The ancient Xunzi once believed that aesthetic activities first need to satisfy people's perceptual requirements and then can play a role in regulating people's body and mind. In "Xunzi's Theory of Rites", it is said: "Carving and carving, bowing and composing articles, so it nourishes the eyes; bells, drums and pipes are exhausted, harp, harp, Yu and sheng, so it nourishes the ears." What is emphasized here is that perceptual images can make people gain Aesthetic pleasure for the senses. It can be seen that "aesthetic education" should first respect people themselves, that is, it should satisfy people's sensory needs and give people spiritual pleasure, and then it can influence people.