"Militarism"and"Loving Beauty":Two Sides of the Same Coin of Liang Qichao's Aesthetic Enlightenment Discourses
The difference between Liang Qichao's early and late aesthetic thoughts is a typical problem in the history of modern Chinese aesthetics.In the context of the late Qing Dynasty,Liang Qichao's enlightenment thoughts were embodied as"Militarism".Liang's governance theory based on novels aims to shape a radical political character of the people.After entering the Republic of China,Liang proposed an aesthetic enlightenment view based on the theory of common senses,reinterpreted traditional literary and artistic experiences,and tried to shape a personality of modern citizens who"love beauty".Liang Qichao's transformation of problem consciousness demonstrated the shifting of ideas from militarism to literature in modern China.Liang Qichao's two different aesthetic enlightenment discourses are actually two sides of the same coin,both embodying his intellectual ambition to transform national character and rebuild the civilization consciousness of the Chinese nation.