Ansai peasant paintings: inheritance of chinese primitive culture and primitive philosophy

Abstract: Chinese primitive philosophy, as the unity of cosmological ontology, epistemology and methodology of the Chinese philosophical system, is a complete and mature philosophical system formed in the late primitive society as early as before the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. It is also the unity of the concept of Yin and Yang and constant life that is sublimated from the human-beings’ basic cultural consciousness: life consciousness and reproduction consciousness. The Chinese primitive culture, from the painted pottery culture 7,000 years ago to today, from the underground archaeological culture to the group culture on the ground, is a plastic art based on the concept of viewing objects and taking images. It is a broad concept of fine arts that determines the philosophical view, artistic view, emotional temperament, psychological quality and national spirit of the Chinese nation. The most primitive culture and primitive philosophy in China have been preserved with extremely rich and complete historical remains in the group’s cultural and social life. It is for this reason that China is the only country with an ancient history of civilization that has not experienced a cultural break. The primitive culture and philosophical system of China, as the philosophical basis and main connotation of ethnic group culture, are completely accumulated in the ethnic groups’ social life. Folk art, which has accumulated the hundreds of millions of working masses’ wisdom in China, is the mother of the Chinese national culture and art that has been inherited from primitive society until today with distinct national and regional characteristics. It is a long-standing cultural form with the longest history, the widest mass participation, the most distinct regional characteristics and the richest cultural connotation in the Chinese national cultural form. The rapid development of the times makes the traditional folk customs and folk arts, which are generally deposited in the rural areas of China, become precarious. As a result, the research advantages of the unique human culture and the original culture of China will cease to exist. Therefore, it is an urgent historical task to make use of this advantage to study the original culture of China and the philosophical genes of the Chinese nation. Protection is imminent, and inheritance is the historical mission, which highlights the deeper significance of studying primitive culture and primitive philosophy in modern society.摘要：中国原始哲学作为中国哲学体系中宇宙论本体论、认识论与方法论的统一体，是早在夏商周之前的原始社会晚期便已形成的完整成熟的哲学体系。它亦是从人类基础文化意识——即生命意识与繁衍意识——中升华而来的阴阳观念与生命恒常理念的统一体。中国原始文化，从七千年前的彩陶文化直至今日，从地下考古文化到地上社群文化，均是以观物取象理念为基础的造型艺术。其作为广义的美术概念，塑造了中华民族的哲学观、艺术观、情感气质、心理素质与民族精神。中国最原始的文化与哲学，依托极为丰富且完整的历史遗存留存于社群的文化与社会生活之中。正因如此，中国是唯一一个拥有古老文明史却未曾经历文化断裂的国家。中国的原始文化与哲学体系，作为族群文化的哲学根基与核心内涵，完全积淀于各族群的社会生活之中。凝聚了中国亿万劳动群众智慧的民间艺术，是中华民族文化艺术的母体——这一艺术形态自原始社会传承至今，兼具鲜明的民族特色与地域特征。民间艺术是中华民族各类文化形态中历史最悠久、群众参与最广泛、地域特征最鲜明、文化内涵最丰富的悠久文化形式。时代的快速发展，使得大多留存于中国乡村地区的传统民俗与民间艺术陷入岌岌可危的境地。长此以往，中国独特的人文文化与原始文化的研究优势将不复存在。因此，依托这一优势开展中国原始文化与中华民族哲学基因的研究，已是一项紧迫的历史任务。保护迫在眉睫，传承更是历史使命，这也凸显了在现代社会研究原始文化与原始哲学的深层意义。