Aesthetics of Attentional Networks: Chinese Harmony and Greek Dualism

Two forms of perception rise in aesthetic experience, corresponding to two complementary attentional networks in the bilateral brain identified by neuroscientists. Not all cultures have valued these perceptions equally. Traditional Chinese culture adheres to the Hybrid Brain model that integrates the stimulus-driven and task-driven modes of attention, as demonstrated by its positive assessment of emotions in human nature, sensuousness in Nature, and the nondualism of humans within Nature. In contrast, the dualistic aesthetics of ancient Greek culture espouses a hierarchical privileging of task-driven attention, characterized by a mistrust of emotion, a deep-seated fear of Nature, and an egocentric/anthropocentric perspective.

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TANG JIANPING'S OPERA "THE DAWNS HERE ARE QUIET": HISTORY OF CREATION AND SPECIFICS OF MUSICAL DRAMATURGY

Arts education and science ◽

10.36871/hon.202003019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 161-167

Author(s):

Wang Kaidi ◽

Keyword(s):

Human Nature ◽

Chinese Culture ◽

Gender Disparity ◽

Psychological State ◽

Chinese Opera ◽

Traditional Chinese Culture ◽

Great Patriotic War ◽

History Of ◽

First Time ◽

Russian Identity

The article is devoted to the Opera "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" by the Chinese composer Tang Jianping based on the same-named novel by Boris Vasilyev. The theme of the Great Patriotic War, which for the first time became the plot of the Chinese Opera, was in tune with the theme of the Chinese Resistance to the Japanese Invasion. The composition synthesizes the characteristics of the European opera type in its Russified version, which was reflected in the heroic and epic dramaturgy and multi-part musical text. Russian folklore allusions, quasi- quotes from Russian operas, military-patriotic and Soviet mass songs reflect the author's method. The integrity of musical dramaturgy was given by the leitmotif, which became the main marker of Russian identity in the Opera. The Opera lacks a naturalistic embodiment of the War, and depicts the enemy in a conventional, symbolic way, in the form of unnamed but recognizable figures. The creators of the play sought to reveal the barbaric essence of the War, its anti-human character, to present the psychological state of the heroes and the manifestation of their human nature. The theme of the death of young girls gave a special perspective to the Opera, which is particularly acute in China due to gender disparity. The concept of the composer, director and screenwriter reflects the ideological constants of traditional Chinese culture, which gave the Opera an internal subtext.

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Wandering Poets in Ancient Greek Culture

10.1017/cbo9780511576133 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Keyword(s):

Ancient Greek ◽

Greek Culture

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From Performance to Casket Copy

Postscripts The Journal of Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds ◽

10.1558/post.v2i2.190 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2 (2-3) ◽

pp. 190-208

Author(s):

Cordell M. Waldron

Keyword(s):

Ancient Greek ◽

Jewish Culture ◽

Greek Culture ◽

Written Texts ◽

Standard Of Comparison

Does the central role of the Iliad and the Odyssey in ancient Greek culture indicate that they functioned as scripture? Taking the role of the Tanakh in Jewish culture as the standard of comparison, this essay argues that, while the Tanakh and the epics functioned similarly as foundational texts in their respective cultures, the ways in which Homer was used in Hellenic culture differ markedly from the ways in which the Tanakh was used in ancient Jewish culture. The Homeric epics were primarily thought of as orally delivered or performed events throughout most of their history, only coming to be thought of as primarily written texts in the Hellenistic era and later, whereas almost from its origins the Tanakh commands and exemplifies a textcentered community in which that which is written is most important.

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