The Shaping of Aesthetics of Literature and Art and Its Characteristics

Although aesthetics of literature and art is a new subject which took shape in1980's, yet so far it has not been defined as a discipline. That is why there are some people who go so far as to even doubt the legitimacy of its existence. Guided by Marxist's views of historical materialism and considering from the historical conditions in which it was born and the social requirements that promoted its birth, the author analyzes the emergence of Aesthetics of Literature and Art in the historic 1980's and points out that it resulted from the social conditions which prevailed in that particular period in China. Meanwhile, the paper argues that Aesthetics of Literature and Art, which is based on the nationality and history in China, is the expressive mode of aesthetic ideas in China and the criterion for evaluation of traditional Chinese literature and art practice. Aesthetics of Literature and Art as a discipline is distinct from Aesthetics and Theory of Literature and Art mainly in terms of research objects, research perspectives, points of departure for study, research methods and disciplinary discourse used in research.