What do you mean by three generations in the history of China?

The Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in the ancient history of China began in 2 1 century BC, and finally the Qin Dynasty was unified in 22 1 year BC, which lasted 18 or 19 centuries. This historical period is called the "bronze age", and some people call it the "slavery age" from the perspective of the emergence of the first class society. Its great significance and important position in the history of the development of ancient civilization in China are being recognized by more and more people today. Three generations of art is an important part of three generations of civilization. People's research on the three generations of art has also achieved rich results. However, how to understand the position and significance of the three generations of art in the history of China's art development, as well as the great achievements and unique contributions in the history of world art development, is still necessary to conduct in-depth discussions. This paper attempts to do some preliminary thinking on this issue from the perspective of comparison and typology.

First, "the art of rites and music": the essential stipulation of three generations of art.

People may give different answers about the nature and characteristics of the three generations of culture. But one thing everyone can agree with is that the three generations of culture are summarized as a kind of "ritual and music culture". There is no doubt that the three generations of rites and music culture developed to the extreme in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the so-called "rites and music system" of the Duke of Zhou is a symbolic expression of this cultural development process (Note: According to the textual research of Mr. Yang Xiangkui, there is a passage about "the rites of the Duke of Zhou before the establishment of the monarch" in the Eighteen Years of Zuo Zhuan Wen Gong. Later, The Book of Rites and The Place of Tang Ming clearly put forward Duke Zhou's "system of rites and music": "When the king of Wu collapsed, he became a king but was weak, and Duke Zhou practiced the position of the son of heaven and ruled the world. In the past six years, the princes of the dynasty have been in Tang Ming and the ritual music system, and they have granted measurements and the world is full of clothes. " See Yang Xiangkui's Zhou Zong Society and Ritual Civilization (Revised Edition), People's Publishing House, 2nd Edition, 1997, p. 283. )。 However, the evolution, profit and loss of three generations of ritual and music civilization and ritual and music culture have their inherent continuity and consistency. The so-called "yin cause, gains and losses are known; Zhou Yin, its gains and losses, we can also know "("The Analects of Confucius for politics "); Rites of the three generations are the same, and the people are the same "(The Book of Rites) and so on (Note: among the scholars who study the three generations of culture in modern times, although some scholars emphasize different aspects of the three generations of culture (such as Fu Sinian's Yi Xia Dong Shuo and Wang Guowei's On the Yin and Zhou Dynasties System), some scholars even think that the three generations of culture represent different nationalities (such as Ding Shan's Jing San Dai, for example). (Textual Research on the Similarities and Differences of Xia, Shang and Zhou Cultures) In many articles, Mr. Zhang Guangzhi repeatedly demonstrated that "the three generations are all part of China's unique ancient civilization, and the differences between the three generations are secondary in distinguishing culture and nationality"; Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties are culturally related, that is to say, they are all Chinese cultures, but there are regional differences between them. " Mr. Li Xueqin clearly agreed with Zhang Guangzhi when quoting the above statement, saying that "the view that three generations of cultures are basically similar is, in a certain sense, a return to Wang Guowei's previous view". See Zhang Guangzhi's The Relationship among the Three Generations and the Formation of the Ancient State of China from the Archaeology of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties (Zhang Guangzhi's Bronze Age of China, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 1st Edition, 1982) and The Capital System of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties and the Similarities and Differences of the Three Generations (Zhang Guangzhi's Bronze Age of China, 2nd Edition, Beijing Joint Publishing Company, 1990 Edition).

What are the most essential provisions of the three generations of rich and splendid art formed in the overall context of the three generations of "ritual and music culture"? This is the close combination and high unity of art ("music") and comprehensive cultural form ("ceremony") at that time. In other words, the art at that time served the ceremony, with the ceremony as its content and the implementation of the ceremony as its fundamental goal. At that time, "ceremony" always tried to resort to pleasing art ("music") forms, so that people could sincerely transform external constraints into internal psychological needs. For this kind of art, we might as well call it "the art of rites and music". By the way, there was no concept of "art" in the Three Dynasties. Even the whole ancient cultural history of China can't find the concept of "art" with modern significance. Although it is not difficult to find the word "art" in ancient literature, the concept of "art" used today is actually a term imported from the West. However, in ancient China, there was a concept that was quite close to the meaning of the word "art" today, and that was the concept of "music" used in the pre-Qin period. As Guo Moruo pointed out: "The so-called' Yue' in the old society of China contains a wide range of contents. Music, poetry and dance are trinity. Needless to say, plastic arts such as painting, sculpture and architecture are also included, and even etiquette, hunting and dishes can be covered. The so-called "Yue" means "Yue". Anything that makes people happy and enjoys the senses can be broadly called "Yue". But represented by music, there is no problem. Probably because the enjoyment of music can best represent art, and its skill number is the most rigorous reason. " (Note: Guo Moruo: Gongsun Nizi and His Theory of Music, Bronze Age1March 945, Chongqing Sandwich Publishing House, p. 163, p. 170. It should be said that the so-called "music" in the three generations of "rites and music" can include all artistic forms, or at least refer to various artistic styles represented by music.

The close relationship between ceremony and music at that time was thoroughly expounded in many ancient classics, especially The Analects of Confucius, Xunzi and The Book of Rites. "Rites and Music" says: "The musicians are the same, but the main ones are different. It is also a blind date, and the difference is respect. If you win, you will flow. If you win, you will leave. This is a matter of feeling and appearance, as well as ritual and music. " "Happiness comes from it, and courtesy comes from outside. Joy comes from it, so it's quiet (emotional), and the ceremony comes from outside, so it's easy to get joy and simple. There is no resentment when you are happy, and there is no dispute when you are polite. Those who rule the world by concession are also called rites and music. " "No matter what you do, you are happy; Xin loves it, and the official of music is also. Chiang Kai-shek is innocent and courteous; Zhuang Shun, the system of ceremony is also. Husband's ritual music is applied to stones, more than sound. If it is used in ancestral halls, it is related to mountains and rivers, so it is also the same as the people here. " Guo Moruo expounded his intention and said, "Music must be based on ritual, and ritual must be based on music and harmony." Rite is order, and joy is harmony. Etiquette is difference, pleasure is equality. Ceremony is the spirit of Apollo (Apollo, the sun god-the leader), and music is the spirit of Dionysus (Dionysus, the Dionysus-the leader). The two seem to be opposite things, but they can be just right. (Noe: Guo Moruo:' Gongsun Nizi and His Theory of Music', Bronze Age, 1945 March, Chongqing Sandwich Publishing House, p. 170. )

How to explain the "rites" in the three generations of rites and music culture and art? Since ancient times, there have been endless explanations about "ceremony". But today, people are more inclined to make a broad cultural interpretation of "Li". Mr. Yang Xiangkui, who is famous for studying ancient etiquette and music civilization, pointed out: "Etiquette originated very early, and it originated from primitive society. Broadly speaking, rituals, social systems and customs are all-encompassing. " (Note: Yang Xiangkui: Zhou Zong Society and Ritual Civilization, revised edition, People's Publishing House, 2nd edition, 1997, p. 337. ) Mr. Chen Lai also thinks: "The' rites' and' rites and music' developed in the Zhou Dynasty have obviously gone beyond the scope of religious etiquette. Historically, the so-called' Duke Zhou's rites and music' obviously refers to the construction of a set of systems and cultures. According to the Book of Rites,' Rites' is an all-encompassing cultural system. " "Generally speaking, the so-called ceremony in ancient times includes two parts: system and etiquette. Although national etiquette can also be regarded as a system, etiquette should be said to be a cultural form and system. " (Noe: Chen Lai: Ancient Religion and Ethics-The Roots of Confucianism, Joint Publishing Company, 1996, pp. 225 and 247. In fact, not only Zhou Li should understand it this way, but also the politeness of the whole three generations. It can be said that the ceremony of the three generations was the production form and ideological form that had not yet differentiated into various independent spirits at that time, that is, the whole culture at that time.

How should we know and evaluate the position and significance of this "art of rites and music" in the history of art and its typological characteristics in the three generations? Here, it is necessary to use the methods of comparison and typology to make some in-depth and concrete analysis. From this point of view, it can be said that the three generations of rites and music have established a brand-new historical type in the history of China's art development, which is an indispensable historical stage in the development of China's art, and has also made great contributions to the historical development of human art, occupying an irreplaceable important position.

Second, the three basic historical types of art

The development of human art has its historical stages and laws. Every important historical stage will form an artistic historical type that is suitable for that historical stage but different from other stages. How to summarize the evolution of art history types in the historical development process has become an important task of art history. The historical description of various art types, including the evolution of art categories, schools, artistic spirit and artistic style, is the basic way of many art history. In addition, there is another possibility in the study of art history, that is, it is not only a pure historical description of the evolution of art history types, but also a theoretical description of the evolution law of art history types that reveals the internal logic of the development of art history types and realizes the unity of logic and history. This is undoubtedly a higher level of theoretical requirements. In the history of art theory, Hegel made such an attempt in Aesthetics. He summarized the development of human art as a logical deduction process of three artistic historical types: symbolic art, classical art and romantic art.

Hegel divided three historical types of art according to the development and change of the relationship between ideas and their perceptual expressions in art. Undoubtedly, this historical evolution model of art contains reasonable elements in the logical grasp of the historical development process of art, but it also has its fatal weaknesses. Aside from the disadvantages of his upside down, Hegel's western centralism and his ignorance of oriental art and China art made him only regard oriental ancient art as the representative of the first historical type of human art, that is, symbolic art, while when discussing the other two historical types, he rarely dabbled in oriental art and avoided talking about it. He thinks that the representative of classical art is the art represented by ancient Greece, while the representative of romantic art is the medieval and modern art in the west. (Note that such an outline about the historical evolution of human art types can undoubtedly not correctly reflect the due status and value of oriental art, including China art.

Regarding the evolution of the basic historical types of human art, the author has repeatedly expounded such a basic point in relevant papers and works: in the whole history of human art development, there have been three basic historical types: the first historical type: "material practical purpose art"; The second historical type: "the art of spiritual practical purpose"; The third historical type: "aesthetic non-practical purpose art"

Moreover, in my opinion, these three types of art are not only the basic historical types of art, but also the basic logical types of art-it is an art type as a special and aesthetic spiritual production, which is divided according to the historical logical connection between artistic production and general production and general spiritual production. In short, this is a classification system of the basic types of art with the unity of logic and history (note: see my Logical Classification System of Art (Literature and Art Research No.5, 1992) and my Introduction to Modern Art (Guangxi Education Press, 1996), chapter 9 and Art Typology (co-author). )。

If the summary of the evolution of the basic historical type of human art conforms to the historical process of art, how should we understand the historical position and significance of the three generations of rites and music art according to the development clues of this artistic type?

Three generations of art have established a new historical type.

As far as the historical development of China's art is concerned, the art created by people in the whole Paleolithic and Neolithic Age basically belongs to the first historical type, that is, the art of material practical purposes, such as the exquisite stone tools, bone ornaments and later pottery made by people at that time, which were basically produced to meet people's material and practical needs.

In the late Neolithic period, which is equivalent to the late Yangshao culture, Longshan culture and Liangzhu culture, the spiritual life of primitive ancestors in China has been quite rich and complicated. In the field of art, a new type of art has emerged, such as Wuyang bone flute, painted pottery basin for dancing in Shangsunjiazhai, Gansu Province, and jade art represented by jade cong in Liangzhu jade, with its spiritual factor gradually rising as the leading factor. However, we must clearly realize that the spiritual factors contained in this art form are obviously only a mixed spiritual factor; The spiritual purpose it wants to achieve is only a mixed spiritual purpose, and it can also be said to be a spiritual purpose with strong primitive witchcraft and religious nature. This is the prelude to the second kind of art history.

It should be said that in the history of China art, the real establishment of the historical position of the second historical type art, that is, the art with spiritual and practical purposes, was completed in the specific historical period of the Three Dynasties.

The three generations in China's history are the period when national civilization appeared, class society established its position, and writing and etiquette centers formed and matured. In a word, "the three generations are the period when China's ancient civilization moved from stereotypes to prosperity, which plays an important role in the history of human civilization." (Note: Li Xueqin: Out of Doubt about the Ancient, revised edition, p. 6 1. Its outstanding feature and main achievement in art is that the "ritual music" art represented by bronze art and music and dance art has reached its peak. The most essential summary of this "art of rites and music" is to regard it as a typical form of "art of spiritual practical purpose". It can be said that the Three Dynasties is the period when this new artistic historical type was established.

We might as well look at how people discussed the function and purpose of art at that time.

As we all know, bronze art is one of the most important art forms in the three generations. China's bronze art has made unparalleled brilliant achievements in the three dynasties, which is an important basis for the three dynasties to be called "Bronze Age". "Three Years" in Zuo Zhuan records a conversation between Wang and Jiuding: "What is the importance of winning? Yes:' In Germany, not in Ding. The party last summer was very valuable. Far away, pay tribute to Jin Jiu for grazing, cast a tripod as if it were something, and be fully prepared to make the people like gods. ..... coordinate with each other to inherit the rest day. Jie has lost his virtue, and Ding moved to the business and sacrificed 600 yuan. The Shang and Zhou dynasties were tyrannical, and Ding moved to Zhou. Ming Xiu's virtue is small but heavy. His treachery is confusing, though it is big and light. ""This clearly shows that Jiuding, as the representative of bronze ritual vessels at that time, is a national symbol integrating theocracy and kingship, and an image expression of ritual vessels and ceremonies. The function and purpose of Jiuding are the same, as are the purposes and functions of other bronze ritual vessels. Some well-known bronze heavyweights, such as Simuwu Dafang Ding, Animal-faced cymbals, and Animal-faced Fang Ding, were all symbols of the supreme kingship at that time and the embodiment of the ritual system. The production of these bronzes was not mainly to meet the needs of real material life, but to reflect the mixed ideology at that time. Zhang Guangzhi, an American scholar in China, has made outstanding research on three generations of bronzes in China. One of his central viewpoints is: "The greatest feature of the Bronze Age in China was that the use of bronze was inseparable from sacrifice and war. In other words, bronze is political power. " (Note: Zhang Guangzhi: China Bronze Age, p. 13. This shows that the basic purpose and function of the three generations of bronzes are to serve the ceremony. Obviously, it is not purely aesthetic, or even mainly for aesthetic purposes.

Look at the purpose and function of music and dance art at that time.

According to "Yao Dian of Shangshu", "Emperor (Shun) said:' Kui! Command women to perform classical music and teach children, straight and warm, broad and millet, rigid but not abusive, simple but not arrogant. Poetry expresses ambition, song always speaks, voice always follows, law and harmony. The eight tones are harmonious, there is no relationship between each other, and heaven and man are one. "Wei Xiao said,' Yu! Give a stone a slap in the face and all animals will dance. "Although this may not be the fact that actually existed in the Shun era, it may be a kind of recollection or illusion of later generations, but it reflects the understanding of the so-called" expressing ambition "function of" Yue "and the function of" harmony between man and nature "of three generations (Note: According to the textual research of Mr. Zhu Ziqing, the expression of ambition in the theory of" expressing ambition in poetry "in the pre-Qin period can be found in Zhu Ziqing's Distinguishing Poems, East China Normal University Press,/.

For these 300 poems, we are all familiar with a very famous saying of Confucius: "What is the reason for the young Mo Xuefu's poems?" "Poetry" can be appreciated, watched, grouped and resented; Your father is far away, and you know the names of birds, animals and plants better. In Confucius' view, Three Hundred Poems is really an encyclopedia that can achieve various spiritual and practical purposes, and it is by no means a pure aesthetic text.

Let's take a look at some other important art forms in the three generations.

In terms of space plastic arts, the above bronze arts undoubtedly represent three generations of arts. However, in addition to bronze art, there are also jade art, lacquer art, ceramic art, architecture and calligraphy and painting art in the three generations, which have made great achievements and made gratifying development in the three generations. However, as far as its overall appearance and dominant type are concerned, as far as the purpose and function of its artistic production are concerned, it still belongs to the category of spiritual and practical purpose art. For example, the jade art, which was quite developed at the end of primitive society, got new and greater development in the Three Dynasties. Ritual jade is the main jade in the three generations. Li Zhou Guan Chun described in detail the function of the six vessels (the most important jade vessels at that time): "Give heaven with cangbi, land with Huangyan, Qingguidong, Zhang Chinan, Baihuxi and Huangxuanbei." There is also a description of the role of the so-called "six sites" (Li Yu's classification at the use level at that time): "Jade is the six Rui, waiting for the state: Wang Zhi Zhengui, Gongzhi Huangui, Hou Zhixingui, Zhi Bo Gonggui, Zizhi Gubi, Gongzhi Pubi." This jade gift is undoubtedly an important part of the art of rites and music.

As far as time art is concerned, except for the three generations of music and dance art and Three Hundred Poems mentioned above, the myths, legends, epics (some hymns in the Book of Songs), ritual art, witchcraft art and some early rap art and drama art in China all have the same essential characteristics, and they are basically not out of the category of ritual art. They are either the expression of comprehensive ideology at that time or mainly serve the purpose of political education at that time.

In short, the three generations of art, as far as its dominant art type is concerned, on the one hand, has undoubtedly surpassed the material practical purpose of ancient obscurantism, but on the other hand, it is far from surpassing other practical purposes-the practical purpose mentioned here is not material practical purpose, but spiritual practical purpose, and it is precisely to achieve other spiritual practical purposes as the fundamental basis for its existence. It is not an art with aesthetic as its main purpose, nor is it an art with aesthetic as its non-practical purpose. Nevertheless, we must not underestimate the historical position and great significance of the three generations of art. It should be said that the three generations of art have established a new historical type, that is, the spiritual practical purpose art type, which has become an intermediate link in the transition from the ancient material practical purpose art to the third artistic historical type, that is, the aesthetic non-practical purpose art.

The Transition from the Late Fourth and Third Generations to the New Historical Type

As we all know, in the history of China's art development, Wei and Jin Dynasties is another historical period of great significance. This period is called "the era of artistic consciousness". Judging from the classification model of art types between logic and history, it can be said that this historical period is the third basic historical type of art, that is, the aesthetic non-practical purpose art type really established its historical position.

However, we should also see that the establishment of this new historical type is not achieved overnight, nor is it achieved overnight. In fact, in the three generations, especially in the late period of the three generations, that is, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the disintegration of the old system of rites and music and the development of art itself, attempts and efforts to surpass the comprehensive ideology at that time appeared in various arts, and art began to strive to break through the framework of artistic historical types with spiritual and practical purposes, and the aesthetic and artistic forms were greatly enhanced, and new artistic historical types sprouted. The emergence of this new style and new art type can be marked by Qu Yuan and Song Yu's creation of ci and fu, the creation of "new sound" popular in music and dance, the new style in plastic arts such as bronze art, and the "playing with jade" in jade articles.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, especially in the late Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, all kinds of arts became more and more exquisite and gorgeous, and their perceptual beauty components gradually increased, and aesthetic components other than practical functions also gradually increased. The accumulation of this quantitative change will inevitably lead to a qualitative leap, that is, the aesthetic purpose will rise to the leading purpose and the practical purpose will retreat to the second line. It should be said that such art began to appear in the late three generations. For example, a pair of "Lotus Crane Square Pots" unearthed in Xinzheng, Henan Province, has a fresh and elegant white crane shape in the center of the lotus petal-shaped pot cover, and the hollowed-out fine lines used by it have become a representative of a new style in art history, and functionally, it has also broken through the framework of ritual art, that is, spiritual and practical purpose art, and increasingly highlighted its aesthetic value and role. The so-called "new music", which is widely popular among the people and even among some royal aristocrats, is dismissed as out of date by those who maintain the old system of rites and music. The fundamental reason why it is so different from those "ancient music" that people dare not lie down with guns is that it has made a different transcendence over the old system of etiquette and greatly enhanced the aesthetic and entertainment elements. Although this kind of art has not yet become the dominant historical type of art as a whole, it is an indispensable precursor for art to truly realize its consciousness in the Wei and Jin Dynasties hundreds of years later.

The emergence of this bud of aesthetic art, to a certain extent, surpassed the framework of the art of rites and music, and was also reflected in the art theory at that time. For example, in his Tian Zi Fang, Zhuangzi created the image of a "true painter" who "undressed" without paying attention to secular utility, and regarded him as the embodiment of his artistic ideal. Although Xunzi also emphasized the same side of ceremony and music in On Music, he paid more attention to the different sides of ceremony and music, which greatly highlighted the unique value and characteristics of "music" different from ceremony.

In a word, since the last three generations, there has been a third historical type in China's ancient art, that is, an art type with aesthetics as its main purpose as an independent spirit. This historical type gradually established its historical position in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Since then, China ancient art has embarked on a rather unique and long historical road. This is that it is basically an aesthetic non-practical purpose art and a spiritual practical purpose art (so-called "ritual and music art" and "Tao-carrying art"). These two types of art history coexist, rise and fall, and go hand in hand. That is to say, after the Wei and Jin Dynasties in ancient China, aesthetic art, as a new type, has established its unshakable historical position, but it has not completely replaced the dominant position of the second historical type art and become an absolute dominant art. That is to say, the art of rites, music and Taoism still has considerable strength and influence in the long-term historical process, and because it is often supported by the official mainstream ideology, it sometimes overwhelms the voice of the third historical type. And those valuable works of art that have really been handed down in history are mainly aesthetic art rather than ritual and Taoist art.

The development path of ancient art in China is quite different from that of western art. Undoubtedly, in the primitive society, western art also took material and practical purpose art as its main historical types. After entering the class society, the spiritual and practical purpose art such as myth, legend, epic and temple architecture gradually replaced the first art type and became the dominant art historical type. Before that, the development of western art was not much different from that of China. However, in ancient Greece around the 5th century BC, there was a brief period of cultural and artistic glory in the west, and there was a so-called "great awakening of freedom" in art, which was described by the famous British art historian Gombrich. In his view, before the 5th century, Greece was still an art world for religious and political purposes. "The great awakening of art towards freedom occurred between 520 BC and 420 BC." . By the end of the 5th century BC, ... more and more people began to realize the attraction of their works, not just to appreciate their religious or political functions. ""The ribbon of the Goddess of Victory Temple (built in 408-the leader) probably shows that the artist's attitude has changed. ..... In this way, the attitude towards art gradually changed in the 4th century BC. Phidias's statues (sculptors in the 5th century, whose representative works are the statue of Athena made for the temple of Olympia and the statue of Zeus-the leader of Olympia) are famous throughout Greece as the incarnation of the god Qí @ The great statues of temples in the 4th century BC enjoyed a high reputation, more because of their artistic beauty ... At that time, the educated people in Greece talked about paintings and statues just like talking about poetry and drama: either praising their beauty or criticizing their forms and ideas. " (Note: Gombrich: History of Art Development, Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 2nd edition, 1992, pp. 53-55. Judging from the aesthetic and artistic achievements of ancient Greek plastic arts, tragedies, comedies and lyric poems, it seems that western art has established the historical position of aesthetic art in this special historical period. However, the good times did not last long. After the brief glory of ancient Greece and Rome, western culture and art experienced a long darkness in the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, all kinds of independent spiritual production undoubtedly existed, because as Engels correctly pointed out, "the history of the Middle Ages only knew one form of ideology, namely religion and theology." "In the Middle Ages, all other forms of ideology-philosophy, politics and law-were integrated into theology and became a discipline in theology." (Note: Engels: The End of ludwig feuerbach and German Classical Philosophy, Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume IV. Under the background of this serious ideological alienation, its artistic production can only be an heteronomy art serving religious theology, but not an art with aesthetic and non-practical purposes. In the west, art should really establish the position of the third historical type and replace the dominant position of the third historical type until after the Renaissance. Especially around the18th century, the modern "art of beauty" system was generally formed, and the principle of artistic self-discipline was fully expounded in theory, so that the aesthetic art type eventually became the real dominant in the art world, and the second historical type was pushed into the historical background and became a secondary type.

It is beyond the scope of this paper to compare the different historical trajectories of the evolution of Chinese and western art history types in detail. What I just want to point out here is that the artistic achievements of China's three generations not only established the dominant position of the new historical type of spiritual and practical purpose art, but also began to transition to the third historical type, namely aesthetic art, and became the forerunner of artistic consciousness in Wei and Jin Dynasties. From this perspective, it can also be said that the three generations of art have an important position and significance in the history of China art, and its position and significance in the history of human art is self-evident.