‘China Through Overseas Eyes’ aesthetics forum held online

A forum titled "China Through Overseas Eyes: The Global Expression of Chinese Aesthetics and Dialogue Among Civilizations" was recently held online. Hosted by the Global Times, the event was moderated by Andrea Bellini of the School of Arts at Peking University. Alan Macfarlane, emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge, fellow of the British Academy and life fellow of King's College, and Ai Lin, director of the Deji Art Museum in Nanjing, delivered keynote speeches and joined discussions on the overseas communication of Chinese aesthetics, digital museums, cross-cultural understanding and museum cooperation.

From left: Andrea Bellini, Alan Macfarlane and Ai Lin

Macfarlane began with the paradox of globalization. The world is more connected, he said, but cultural distance between civilizations has not disappeared. New thinking is needed: We must deepen understanding while avoiding flattening differences. He took the Chinese word shanshui as an example. It is often translated in English as "landscape," but the word literally means "mountain and water" and brings together movement and stillness, solidity and fluidity, relations rather than isolated objects. Since the Renaissance, the West has emphasized perspective and the observer looking out at the world. In Chinese painting, there is no privileged vantage point; the eye journeys through the landscape. In Western painting, humans often dominate nature, while in Chinese painting, they are often tiny and subordinate to nature.

Ai introduced the Deji Art Museum's digital exhibition of the Jingling Scroll, a long scroll depicting ancient Nanjing. If the painting has simply been placed in a display case, visitors unfamiliar with Chinese culture may only see it depicts "many people." The museum therefore created an immersive digital exhibition using a huge LED screen about 110 meters long and 3.6 meters high. Visitors wearing smart wristbands can choose figures using their phones. Digital avatars then follow them in real time on the LED screen, allowing them to enter the painting and interact with its residents. A fortune teller, for example, can tell visitors their Chinese zodiac sign based on their birthday, helping foreign viewers understand a concept they may have heard of but never personally experienced.

Ai also noted that young Chinese people often make museums their first stop in a city and are eager for global perspectives.

By Xu Liuliu

Company: Global Times

Contact Person: XIAOYING HAN

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