Beyond Life and Death: Humanistic Care of Eco-Arts in China

The ecosophy and the cosmology of the unity and coexistence between human and nature, as well as the aesthetic view of natural beauty in ancient Chinese philosophy, all reflect the deep love for nature and all creatures. One of these representative themes related to ecological view is the reflection on life and death, which represents as the eternal issue of art expression. This ecological aesthetic consciousness that was embodied in countless works including poems, music, dance and paintings has been inherited by contemporary artists in China. Some artists represent the desire for life and the fear of death in the artworks, arousing empathized experience and feelings of the audience during the appreciation. Others focus on the transcendence of life and death, discussing the representation of rebirth. The artworks of Shen Shaomin, Xu Bing, Song Dong and Jin Lipeng are introduced as representatives in this paper. In the practice of artistic creation, any reflection and expression on life and death ultimately serves the aesthetic education of eco-literacy. In order to make greater contribution to an ecological aesthetic education, eco-artists are supposed to take the love for both life and earth as the inner spirit. To form a new paradigm of eco-friendly living is the main goal of ecological aesthetic education.