The Aesthetics of Qiyun and Genius

In The Aesthetics of Qiyun and Genius: Spirit Consonance in Chinese Landscape Painting and Some Kantian Echoes, Xiaoyan Hu provides an interpretation of the notion of qiyun, or spirit consonance, in Chinese painting, and considers why creating a painting—especially a landscape painting—replete with qiyun is regarded as an art of genius, where genius is an innate mental talent. Through a comparison of the role of this innate mental disposition in the aesthetics of qiyun and Kant’s account of artistic genius, the book addresses an important feature of the Chinese aesthetic tradition, one that evades the aesthetic universality assumed by a Kantian lens.

Drawing on the views of influential sixth to fourteenth-century theorists and art historians and connoisseurs, the first part explains and discusses qiyun and its conceptual development from a notion mainly applied to figure painting to one that also plays an enduring role in the aesthetics of landscape painting. In the light of Kant’s account of genius, the second part examines a range of issues regarding the role of the mind in creating a painting replete with qiyun and the impossibility of teaching qiyun. Through this comparison with Kant, Hu demystifies the uniqueness of qiyun aesthetics and also illuminates some limitations in Kant’s aesthetics.

“"Xiaoyan Hu's book offers an insightful and erudite historical and philosophical exploration of qiyun (spirit consonance) in Chinese figure and landscape painting and aesthetic discourses in relation to the aesthetics of genius as a talent of idea- and rule-giving in Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment. This work is comparative and intercultural philosophy at its best in allowing each aesthetic to illuminate the other and its limits without reduction or oversimplification."”

"By placing two radically different aesthetics theories in contrast, the author illustrates the best benefit of doing comparative philosophy---one ends up gaining a better understanding of both. Interestingly, the more different to begin with, the more revealing in the end."

--Peimin Ni, author of Confucius: The Man and the Way of Gongfu

"In this volume, Xiaoyan Hu treats us to two books in one: first, an informed study of the Chinese aesthetic concept of qiyun (which she translates as "spirit consonance"), from its origins in figure painting to later applications in landscape painting; then, an equally informed comparison of qiyun aesthetics with that of Kant, with special attention to the idea of "genius" in the Third Critique. Hu anticipates a doubtful reader's obvious question (Is Kant the right philosopher for such a comparison?) with thoughtful responses. No, Chinese aesthetics is not Kantian, but Kant turns out to be surprisingly good to think with."

--Paul R. Goldin, University of Pennsylvania

"This bold experiment in letting classical Chinese aesthetics speak in its own voice deserves to be carefully studied by anyone interested in the problems typically addressed by Western aesthetics or in the practice of landscape painting. By focusing on similarities as well as differences between Kantian aesthetics, with its analytic rigor and claim to universal validity, and the more intuitive, insight-oriented focus of Chinese views on painting, Xiaoyun Hu demonstrates how both traditions can enrich and clarify the other through dialogical comparison. Significant insights abound as she unpacks the many resonances and dissonances between Chinese Qiyun (spirit consonance) and Kantian artistic genius as an innate mental talent of rule-giving."

--Stephen R. Palmquist, Hong Kong Baptist University

"This book provides a scholarly analysis of a central idea qiyun in the painting tradition and the aesthetic discourse of ancient China. The analysis is carried out in a contemporary and international manner, which involves a critical comparison with European especially Kantian aesthetics. It is an important study in the field--in comparative aesthetics and comparative philosophy. It is highly recommended for anyone interested in a cross-cultural comparison between China and Europe in aesthetics and painting history."

--Jianfei Zhu, Newcastle University

"This learned book seeks to answer some key questions revolving around qiyun (spiritual consonance), an important but elusive concept in Chinese art criticism. Employing a comparative approach informed by ideas of Western aesthetics, especially those of Kant and Schiller, Dr. Xiaoyan Hu has made admirable contributions to understanding Chinese and Western aesthetics. Well-researched and thoughtfully argued, it is indispensable for anyone interested in Chinese aesthetics and comparative studies of art."

--Ming Dong Gu, University of Texas at Dallas

--Eric S. Nelson, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Xiaoyan Hu is lecturer in art theory at Southeast University in Nanjing, China.

In The Aesthetics of Qiyun and Genius: Spirit Consonance in Chinese Landscape Painting and Some Kantian Echoes, Xiaoyan Hu provides an interpretation of the notion of qiyun, or spirit consonance, in Chinese painting, and considers why creating a painting--especially a landscape painting--replete with qiyun is regarded as an art of genius, where genius is an innate mental talent. Through a comparison of the role of this innate mental disposition in the aesthetics of qiyun and Kant's account of artistic genius, the book addresses an important feature of the Chinese aesthetic tradition, one that evades the aesthetic universality assumed by a Kantian lens.Drawing on the views of influential sixth to fourteenth-century theorists and art historians and connoisseurs, the first part explains and discusses qiyun and its conceptual development from a notion mainly applied to figure painting to one that also plays an enduring role in the aesthetics of landscape painting. In the light of Kant's account of genius, the second part examines a range of issues regarding the role of the mind in creating a painting replete with qiyun and the impossibility of teaching qiyun. Through this comparison with Kant, Hu demystifies the uniqueness of qiyun aesthetics and also illuminates some limitations in Kant's aesthetics.

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