Bide 比德: A Study on the Premodern Chinese Approach to the Integration of Morality and Aesthetics--An Examination of the Interaction between Confucian and Buddhist Aesthetics

比德:审美与道德相结合的中国古代方案研究——以儒家和佛教美学的交流关系为例
Begin - Einde 
2025 - 2027 (lopend)
Type 
Vakgroep(en) 
Vakgroep Talen en Culturen
Andere instituten 
Shanghai University
Tijdsperiode 
Land/Regio 
Taal 
Onderzoeksmethode 
Trefwoorden 
Chinese Aesthetics
Confucian Aesthetics
Buddhist Aesthetics
Integration of Morality and Aesthetics
比德
Chinese philosophy

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Abstract

In the history of ancient Chinese thought, bide 比德 initially existed as a universal mode of thinking with anthropological significance, referring to the association of certain human behaviors or concepts with the characteristics of natural entities. Until the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, this mode of discourse remained widespread across various textual traditions. After the Warring States Period, with the expanding influence of Confucian thought, bide gradually became systematized into specific intellectual traditions. Through the elaboration and extension of pre-Qin Confucian scholars' discussions, bide also began to exert influence on the literary and artistic domains. Notable examples include the concept of xiangde 象德 in ritual and music as moral cultivation, bide in painting, discussions on literary criticism that associate personal virtue with literary creation, and the bide-based conceptualization of yi 艺 and yishu 艺术.

The subject of this study is precisely the Confucian tradition of bide and its theoretical manifestations in literature and art, with a particular focus on the interaction between Confucian and Buddhist aesthetics as a key case study. In ancient times, bide was closely associated with Confucian moral thought. However, the literary and artistic concepts that emerged from it gradually exhibited characteristics that diverged from morality and could be identified as aesthetic phenomena. In this way, bide evolved into a tradition that integrates morality and aesthetics.

本研究旨在揭示这一思想传统是如何在儒家思想与佛教思想的互动中形成的,并确定在此过程中出现的具体概念轨迹和特征。通过这一探索,本研究旨在阐明 “比德” 作为前现代中国美学概念的包容性、多义性和文化独特性。

该项目为联合博士项目(上海大学和根特大学)框架下开展,由刘璟女士担任博士研究员。在根特大学逗留期间(2025 年 3 月 - 2026 年 3 月),主要研究宋代儒家和佛教学者关于比德的论述。

在中国古代思想史中,“比德”早先作为一种具有人类学普遍性的思维方式而存在,指的是人类行为或观念的某些特征与自然物的某些特征相附,直至春秋战国时期,比德的言说方式还广泛存在于各家文献中。战国以后,随着儒家思想影响的范围,“比德”逐渐固定为一些思想传统,通过对先秦儒家学者相关论述的拓展、阐释发展,比德逐渐在文学、艺术等领域也产生了影响,比较重要的话题有礼乐教化的“象德”,图画的“比德”,文学批评理论中对个人德性与文学创作的探讨,以及“艺术”概念本课题的研究对象,正是作为儒家思想传统的“比德”及其理论文艺表现,且以其中儒家与佛教美学思想的交流关系为重点案例。“比德”思想在古代与儒家道德观念有关,而由此产生的文艺观念,又逐渐呈现出一些与道德相异的、可以被透视的比德等。因此,“比德”就成为了一种结合道德与审美的思想传统,课题要求可以在研究中揭示这种思想传统如何在儒家、佛教思想的交融中衍生出某些具体的理路和特征,并研究探讨“比德”作为中国古代反性、多义性和民族性等方面的美学思想。

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