Philosophical Foundations of Contemporary Chinese Neorealism

Chinese new realism painting is formed under the interaction of western philosophy and Chinese native phi-losophy. Philosophical and cultural theories have had a significant impact on artists’ understanding of real-world problems and the way they conceive art. For some contemporary Chinese artists, philosophical and cul-tural theories have become an integral part of their professional outlook. Neorealist artists depict objective reali-ty according to their feelings, emotions and spiritual values. This paper points out three philosophical concepts that influence Neo-Realism philosophy: symbol philosophy, value philosophy and life philosophy. These philo-sophical schools have influenced the most important conceptual attributes of creation and reflected the particu-larity of neo-realists’ cognition of the world. The particularity of the philosophical and cultural interpretation of the new realist artist’s creation lies in the artist’s high subjectivity, criticism and individualization. It is this philo-sophical premise that opens up a broad space for free creation, showing the subjective understanding of reali-ty, reflecting the inner world of the individual and the interpretation of reality in the works.