This preprint examines the structural and spiritual resonance between Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's nature poetry and the Eastern poetics of "Unity of Heaven and Humanity" (Tian Ren He Yi). Challenging both Western scholarship's philosophical bias and Chinese studies' translational focus, the study adopts a comparative poetics approach grounded in close reading and structural analysis. Through detailed examination of Goethe's representative nature poems—from early Sturm und Drang lyrics to the late West-Eastern Divan—the analysis reveals that Goethe's pursuit of organic wholeness, rhythmic harmony, and the dissolution of subject-object boundaries aligns fundamentally with core principles of classical Chinese aesthetics. The argument proceeds in three movements: first, establishing Goethe's Spinozist view of nature as a living whole in which humans participate rather than dominate; second, tracing the formal congruence between Goethe's poetic techniques (rhythm, imagery combination, lyric perspective, language texture) and Chinese aesthetic categories (Yijing, liubai, qingjing jiaorong, wenrou dunhou); third, demonstrating the spiritual resonance between Goethe's values (reverence for nature's divinity, respect for life's integrity, yearning for harmonious order) and the Confucian-Taoist ideal of cosmic unity. The study concludes by reflecting on the contemporary significance of this resonance for ecological thought and cross-cultural dialogue, positioning Goethe as a participant in a universal poetic wisdom that transcends cultural boundaries. Correspondence: xia.bo.poetry@outlook.com
Bo Xia (Fri,) studied this question.