Only when your life is beautiful is the world beautiful.
Fu Zi Jiao once said that people have five desires: 'appetite, lust, intellectual desire, moral desire, and aesthetic desire.' It can be said that aesthetics is a part of life quality. People who are lost in fame and fortune and immersed in worldly affairs naturally have no 'heavenly light and cloud shadow.'
Their illness is the exhaustion of life, and a life with vitality is a process of surrendering to beauty, which is always in motion and can be always quiet, but always centered on beauty.
As Song Dynasty scholar Guo Xi said: 'Spring mountains are brilliantly beautiful like a smile, summer mountains are pale green like drops, autumn mountains are clear and pure like makeup, and winter mountains are bleak and pale like sleep.' With no other concerns, each season is a good time.
Aesthetic judgment is a way of looking at things. 'Shore flowers send greetings to travelers, wall swallows leave messages for those who remain,' 'flower' and 'swallow' are originally lifeless things, but because of a person's 'keen imagination and understanding,' they seem to have the same feelings as a person, starting to greet people and bloom with countless forms.
When you approach the world with such care, the world becomes connected to you. At this moment, a person is no longer the master of the world, and things don't need to be chosen based on their value. The heavens and the earth have feelings, and they are all worthy of observation. The poet said it well: 'Only when your life is beautiful is the world beautiful.'
Aesthetic people often have independent personalities. They can ignore what others value and value what others ignore. When they ignore something, they know how to let go. When they value something, they also know how to be persistent.
A piece of ancient artifact placed in front of someone, some people value its economic value, lacking independent aesthetic discernment, so they cannot break away from blind adherence to worldly standards of material and style.
But the true aesthetic appreciators will disregard it. They will persistently investigate and find the position of this ancient artifact in the artistic long river.
'A true friend is like a musical instrument, one can play it, another can't.' A work of art that reaches the heart doesn't need to be embellished with cumbersome appearances. Simple and elegant, and naturally revealing its charm.
Isn't this the personality beauty of ancient Yanxianshi? Observe strange woods and stones, embrace simplicity and grace, and create a powerful presence; appreciate elegant and refined utensils, practice Daoism, and create a sense of emptiness; appreciate bamboo and wood carvings, turning hands into wind, and immediately create a sense of spirit.
The heart-to-heart creation of ancient literati and craftsmen, condensing poems into objects, and creating a beautiful new world. Clear the mind and relieve worries, and attain knowledge through observation.
This aesthetic taste is cultivated through years of accumulation and the influence of the environment.
A century ago, Cai Yuanpei's 'Methods of Implementing Aesthetic Education' discussed the huge impact of the living environment on a person: 'To carry out a thorough aesthetic education, we must focus on the earliest step.'
'The maternity center should be located in a beautiful and scenic place, not affected by the turbid air and chaotic habits of the city. The building should be well-proportioned and exquisite, with courtyards on all four sides, providing space for walking, exercise, and observing the moon and stars.'
… The words and actions of adults in the courtyard should have appropriate tones and attitudes, serving as a model for children. Even clothing should have a beautiful representation.
——Cai Yuanpei's 'Methods of Implementing Aesthetic Education'
