A History of Western Aesthetics

A History of Western Aesthetics is Zhu Guangqian’s most important work and the first history of aesthetics written by a Chinese scholar. It has groundbreaking academic value and represents the level of Chinese scholarship on Western aesthetic thought.

The book consists of an introduction and three parts. The first covers the period from ancient Greece and Rome through the Renaissance; the second, the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the Enlightenment; and the third, the late eighteenth century through the early twentieth century. The book concludes with focused studies of four key issues in aesthetics. The major figures chosen to represent the main schools of thought are those who are highly representative, had a far-reaching influence, are widely recognized as authoritative classics, help illustrate the course of historical development, and offer valuable insights. In discussing each aesthetician, the book first introduces the general historical context and intellectual origins, then analyzes and evaluates their specific aesthetic ideas, and summarizes their strengths and shortcomings.