By Jiang Xun

Since the times of Ancient Greece, the human figure has been a never-ending theme in the artistic creations of the Western world. Two nude sculptures, Apollo and Venus, which are collected in the Vatican Museum and the Louvre respectively, have laid the foundation for the creative works of western fine art academies dating back more than two thousand years.

Is the unclothed human body truly beautiful? It seems that the question has been talked about and debated incessantly throughout the long history of Western art.

But why is it that the topic has never been discussed or even raised in Confucian-centric Eastern art?

[法] 欧仁·德拉克罗瓦　《自由领导人民》Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix [France]

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, around the time of Napoleon, the Imperial College of France often used nude figures—particularly female ones—in their artwork to symbolize abstract philosophical concepts, like freedom, liberation and democracy.

In 1830s, Eugène Delacroix, a French Romantic artist, painted his famous masterwork,Liberty Leading the People, that featured a half-naked, bare-breasted woman waving the flag of the French Republic, symbolizing the people’s pursuit, longing and striving for freedom and democracy.

Freedom is totally abstract,yet the female body is concrete.Apparently, Western artists tried to inspire the public by virtue of implanting this abstract ideology into the concrete female form.

This famous painting so oftadmired by visitors to the Louvre has shaped the whole of French society. And I couldn’t help but wonder, did the public truly value the abstract concept of “freedom”that the painting intended to convey, or were they simply affected by the nude female figure,or both? The answer could be rather ambiguous. However, such an ambiguity between abstract thought and the concrete human form is not likely to exist in Confucianism.

明 戴进 《踏雪寻梅图》Savoring the Plum Blossom on a Snowy Day by Dai Jin, Ming Dynasty

从希腊开始，西方文明一直以人的裸体作为美术的创作主题。收藏在卢浮宫等博物馆的阿波罗、维纳斯的裸体雕像，长达两千年，一直是西方艺术学院美术创作的基础。

身体，没有衣服遮盖的肉体本身，可以是美的吗？西方漫长的美术史，似乎一直在探索这一问题。

为什么在东方儒家文化主导的美术里，从来没有提出和面对同样的议题？

19世纪初，在拿破仑执政前后，法国宫廷学院的美术，常常以裸体（特别是女性裸体）来象征抽象的哲学概念，像“自由”，像“解放”，像“民主”。

19世纪30年代，浪漫主义的德拉克洛瓦，画过一幅著名的《自由领导人民》。画面中央就是一位半裸体、露出胸部的女性，手拿法兰西共和国旗帜，象征民众对自由民主的追求、向往与奋斗。

“自由”是很抽象的一个概念，但是，女性身体非常具象，好像西方文明要把抽象思维转换成具象的肉体，才能煽动起大众的热烈情绪。

看着卢浮宫里这幅影响整个法国社会的名画，我在想，民众从画里得到的究竟是对“自由”抽象概念的信仰，还是对女性裸体的感动，中间界限好像并不十分清楚。这种抽象思维与具象肉体的暧昧性，在儒家文化中，几乎不会发生。

儒家的道德精神信仰诉诸文字，明明白白用汉字书写成“自由”“民主”“解放”，不会假托一个女性裸体的肉身来表现。裸体，尤其是女性裸体，在儒家文化里，几乎等同淫秽罪恶。

我们对肉体如此陌生，又对肉体充满好奇，充满“偷窥”的欲望。……