道德美學與「中國性」：新儒家美學試論

Moral Aesthetics and ''Chinese-ness'': The Aesthetics of Modern Confucians

在西潮衝擊之下，二十世紀港台現代儒家的美學思想，多半從中西比較的觀點出發，為捍衛傳統中國人的生命情調與藝術美感而發出不平之鳴，具有強烈的針對性。包括方東美、錢穆、唐君毅、徐復觀、牟宗三等人，或從宇宙哲學著眼，或就政治背景、歷史文化立論，乃至訴諸性情感通；雖然各自切入點不同，但他們不約而同地以現代語彙詮釋中國傳統美感，共同建構了一套相當完整的美學系統，甚至以此作為界定「中國之所以為中國」（「中國性」，Chinese-ness）的特質之一。質言之，他們都以「善」為最高圭臬，以善為美，主張「為人生而藝術」，難以接受現代「為藝術而藝術」的觀念。此一以道德美學界定之「中國性」，能不能與「現代性」相容並存？值得尋思。在還沒有找到兩全之道之前，不同的世界觀之間應彼此尊重包容。

Contemporary Confucianism rose in response to the challenges of everexpanding Western civilization in modern times. Under the banner of cultural nationalism, the aesthetics of contemporary Confucians could be considered a defense of traditional Chinese sensibility against the West and its iconoclastic Chinese followers. Although their approaches were diverse, these scholars resonated with each other in terms of their basic assumptions and final conclusions. From cosmological philosophy, political background, cultural foundation to empathetic feelings, they formulated a system of moral aesthetics which was integral to their definition of ''Chinese-ness''. They preferred the principle of ''art for life's sake'' to the concept of ''art for art's own sake.'' The ''good'' remained the top concern of all contemporary Confucians, whereas the ''beautiful'' was only secondary or supplementary. Will the ''Chinese-ness'' defined by such moral aesthetics be compatible with modernity? Openmindedness and tolerance are essential for the two world-views to exist side by side.