A Brief Discussion on the Aesthetic Connotation of “Simplicity” in Zhuangzi

“朴素”是庄子美学的重要命题，这一个命题主要包含“白”、“自然”、“真”等内容。“白”既是“朴素”的外在气质彰显也是内在的纯澈心灵状态；“自然”作为“朴素”的根基，以“无为而无不为”化育万物；“真”是“朴素”追求的最高审美境界，通过以游反“真”、采“真”进而与大道同行，与天地同德，与万物同波。这体现出了庄子美学师心造化、弃人为工巧的理论倾向，直接影响了后世美学对美的本质的认识，对中国美学的历史发展有着深远的影响。“Simplicity” is an important proposition of Zhuangzi’s aesthetics, which mainly contains the contents of “whiteness”, “nature”, “truth” and so on. This proposition mainly contains “white”, “nature”, “truth” and so on. “White” is both the external manifestation of “simplicity” and the internal state of pure mind; “nature”, as the foundation of “simplicity”, is based on the concept of “nothing but nothing”. Nature, as the foundation of “simplicity”, nurtures all things by “doing nothing and doing nothing”; “truth” is the highest aesthetic realm pursued by “simplicity”, which is realized by swimming against “truth” and collecting “truth”. “True” is the highest aesthetic state pursued by “simplicity”, and by traveling to counter “true” and “true”, we can walk with the Great Dao, share the same virtue with heaven and earth, and share the same wave with all things. This reflects the theoretical tendency of Zhuang Zi’s aesthetics of mastering creation and abandoning artificial work, which directly affects the understanding of the essence of beauty in later aesthetics, and has a far-reaching influence on the historical development of Chinese aesthetics.