A Dreamed Form of Being
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Li Shuangzhi
Abstract
This paper attempts to develop a comparative approach to the dream narratives of the Daoist philosopher Zhuang Zhou and the Austrian poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The analogous rhetorical function of the dream in their texts links the two authors from different cultures and traditions. As will be argued, in using dreams to stress a challenging and even deconstructive view of the so-called reality, both Zhuang and Hofmannsthal articulate their skepticism against substantial notions of human subjectivity and offer an imaginary life-world which aims to remind us of the contingency of our being-forms. In so doing, they also shape an aesthetic way to keep oneself open to the perception and experience of the unbiased Dao or Being. Thus, their poetic texts can be read in the context of rethinking the boundary between our life and world.
© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Aesthetics and Life-World in German-Chinese Dialogue
- I: Kantian Aesthetics as a Starting Point – 从康德美学出发
- Symbolizing an Infinite World – Kant’s Analytic of Aesthetic Judgment, its Transcultural Dimension, and Jullien’s Critique of its Limits
- Aesthetic Cognition
- Aesthetic Ideality Versus Ontological Temporality
- Aesthetic Education in Confucius, Xunzi, and Kant
- Light is Space
- II: Aesthetics and Everyday Life – 美学和日常生活
- The Love of Beauty for the Good Life
- Art and Technology
- There Are More Things in (Life) World…
- The Rhythm of Action
- III: Living Aesthetics and Art – 生活美学和艺术
- Thinking and Poetry
- The Standard of Taste in David Hume’s Philosophy
- An Intercultural Interpretation on Heidegger’s Poet
- A Dreamed Form of Being
- Die Fadheit als Lebenskonzept in der chinesischen Kultur
- Information, Communication and Art
- IV: Aesthetics as Philosophy of Arts – 作为艺术哲学的美学
- Techné, Life-world, and Art
- Aesthetic Judgments and Their Cultural Grounding
- From Cézanne’s Doubt to Ai Weiwei’s Subversive Engagement
- Das Bild als Phänomen
- V: Varia and Miscellaneous – 杂文拾翠
- Perpetual Thriving
- Biobibliography
- Biobibliography
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Aesthetics and Life-World in German-Chinese Dialogue
- I: Kantian Aesthetics as a Starting Point – 从康德美学出发
- Symbolizing an Infinite World – Kant’s Analytic of Aesthetic Judgment, its Transcultural Dimension, and Jullien’s Critique of its Limits
- Aesthetic Cognition
- Aesthetic Ideality Versus Ontological Temporality
- Aesthetic Education in Confucius, Xunzi, and Kant
- Light is Space
- II: Aesthetics and Everyday Life – 美学和日常生活
- The Love of Beauty for the Good Life
- Art and Technology
- There Are More Things in (Life) World…
- The Rhythm of Action
- III: Living Aesthetics and Art – 生活美学和艺术
- Thinking and Poetry
- The Standard of Taste in David Hume’s Philosophy
- An Intercultural Interpretation on Heidegger’s Poet
- A Dreamed Form of Being
- Die Fadheit als Lebenskonzept in der chinesischen Kultur
- Information, Communication and Art
- IV: Aesthetics as Philosophy of Arts – 作为艺术哲学的美学
- Techné, Life-world, and Art
- Aesthetic Judgments and Their Cultural Grounding
- From Cézanne’s Doubt to Ai Weiwei’s Subversive Engagement
- Das Bild als Phänomen
- V: Varia and Miscellaneous – 杂文拾翠
- Perpetual Thriving
- Biobibliography
- Biobibliography
