The Influence of Taiji Philosophy on the Artistic Conception of Contemporary Chinese Neorealism

This paper is devoted to the analysis of the influence of ancient Chinese Taiji philosophy on the artistic creation of contemporary Chinese artists. The introduction of the article is introducing of Taiji philosophy. We believe that Taiji philosophy is the synthetic unity of many ancient philosophical thoughts, and it is the basis of the influence on the spirit of modern art and culture. Taoist natural philosophy and Confucian ethics synthesize the philosophical core of traditional Chinese world outlook, emphasize the simplicity and nature of world order, and form the basic principles of Taiji. The concept of Yin and Yang is fundamental to Taiji, emphasizing the duality of movement and change as a balance of opposing developing forces. The dialectics of Taiji philosophy has been supplemented by the creation thought of energy – “Qi” in its development. The synthesis of knowledge is an enrichment of dialectical philosophical thought, that is, all things in the world are moving, the whole composed of individuals has the characteristics of “Yin and Yang”, and “Qi” is the absolute energy of all things, including human activities. The basic principles of Taiji philosophy and ethics include: naturalness of change, without imposing interference (inaction); change is the only constant for the existence of the world and for ensuring its sustainability; and softness helps to develop renewed creativity. The study illustrates the functional significance of the influence of Taiji principles and philosophical ideas on the evolution of neo-realist art. Taking Chinese neo-realist artists Xin Dongwang and Zheng Yi as examples, the author extends a new understanding of the three driving factors of artistic creation motivation: internal, external and subjective. Taking the development of neo-realist art as an example, it proves that Confucianism and Taoism have become two fully mature directions in the ancient Chinese philosophical heritage, and that there is functional complementarity in thinking about the differences of contemporary Chinese culture and social environment through artistic expression.