Aesthetics and Marxism: Chinese Aesthetic Marxists and Their Western Contemporaries

by Kang Liu

Although Chinese Marxism—primarily represented by Maoism—is generally seen by Western intellectuals as monolithic, Liu Kang argues that its practices and projects are as diverse as those in Western Marxism, particularly in the area of aesthetics. In this comparative study of European and Chinese Marxist traditions, Liu reveals the extent to which Chinese Marxists incorporate ideas about aesthetics and culture in their theories and practices. In doing so, he constructs a wholly new understanding of Chinese Marxism.
Far from being secondary considerations in Chinese Marxism, aesthetics and culture are in fact principal concerns. In this respect, such Marxists are similar to their Western counterparts, although Europeans have had little understanding of the Chinese experience. Liu traces the genealogy of aesthetic discourse in both modern China and the West since the era of classical German thought, showing where conceptual modifications and divergences have occurred in the two traditions. He examines the work of Mao Zedong, Lu Xun, Li Zehou, Qu Qiubai, and others in China, and from the West he discusses Kant, Schiller, Schopenhauer, and Marxist theorists including Horkheimer, Adorno, Benjamin, and Marcuse. While stressing the diversity of Marxist positions within China as well as in the West, Liu explains how ideas of culture and aesthetics have offered a constructive vision for a postrevolutionary society and have affected a wide field of issues involving the problems of modernity.
Forcefully argued and theoretically sophisticated, this book will appeal to students and scholars of contemporary Marxism, cultural studies, aesthetics, and modern Chinese culture, politics, and ideology.

Genres: China

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2000

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book is relevant to anyone wishing to grasp a deeper understanding of the Chinese culture that emerged from the influence of Mao. It does this by examining the intellectuals, like Li, that challenged Mao with their interpretation of Marx and Kant. It is easy to conclude that China's development is not isolated from the world, but it is distinctly peppered with influences that have shaped modern thinking. The modern China is a result of modernism, just as the West, yet the unique character of the Chinese has coloured their interpretation as to what we perceive now. From the perspective of the author, that if Mao had been a little less confrontational to the intellectuals mentioned, the progression towards modernism may have been less jarring.

There are some beautiful quotes from Wang Guowei as the author defines the term aesthetics, that of a human feeling more than the over emphasis of visual language that can cloud western eyes. The reason I read this book was that it stood out in the university library shelves, because of the cover had the words aesthetic and Chinese. After a research trip to China's main cities, I wanting to grasp a deeper understanding of what aesthetics means to the Chinese. Although thorough, this book has left me with more questions than answers, and I am thankful for that.