圖像的旅行－－北美地區中國藝術思想與美學研究

Image Journey: Chinese Art and Aesthetics in Diaspora in North America

本文論述中國藝術思想與美學研究在北美地區的發展、傳播與影響，討論華人學者與漢學家透過中國古典文獻翻譯、解讀與詮釋，所勾勒出的中國藝術與美學思想的圖像，以及其中所隱含因文化跨越而引起之圖像旅行的議題。本論文首先討論中國藝術理論翻譯與理解的失落與增補的問題。其次針對相關議題進行研究，尤其探討在西方文化脈絡下「中國藝術」的範疇與類(category and genre)的界定問題， 中國傳統詩書畫藝術中的文與象(image)的關係問題，以及對中國藝術鑑賞、品評的美學倫理化(ethico-aesthetic)的解釋傾向問題。本文對照西方當代各種前衛藝術創作，和哲學美學的自我反省，探討北美研究中國藝術與美學的華裔學者、漢學家、藝術史家，對中國文學書畫文物之創作，及其藝術性質的省思，例如，中國藝術的存在與認知方式，中國文人詩書畫的氣韻與陶養，是倫理問題，還是市場價格，或政治的意識形態問題等。藉此檢討中國藝術思想的現代意涵。

This paper discusses the development, transmission, and influence of the study of the concepts and aesthetics of Chinese art in North America. It investigates the image of Chinese art and aesthetics as presented by Chinese sinologists and art historians through their translations, readings, and interpretations of the classics of Chinese art theory, and in particular the journey taken by Chinese art in the process of its transmission across cultures. This paper first explores the ways Chinese art theory has been mistranslated or misunderstood, and then in the following section tackles various questions pertaining to Chinese aesthetics in diaspora, in particular how ”Chinese art” is understood as an aesthetic category or genre (lei) in a Western cultural context, the interplay between text (wen) and image (xiang) in classical Chinese poetry, painting, and calligraphy, and the tendency towards an ethico-aesthetic attitude in the apprecation and appraisal of Chinese art. This paper contrasts various contemporary artworks and reflections on philosophy and aesthetics, to explore the thinking of Chinese scholars, sinologists, and art historians in North America regarding the artifacts of Chinese literature and their artistic qualities. In discussing the ways in which Chinese art exists and is cognized, and whether the question of tone in Chinese literati poetry, calligraphy, and painting and its purpose in edification is one of ethics, market value, or political awareness, this article aims to explore the modern implications of the contributions of Chinese scholars to the study of Chinese art and aesthetics in North America.