The 128 most classic philosophical essays in the world

Chapter 129

[Japan] Kawabata Yasunari
Just because people's ability to feel beauty is limited, it is said that the beauty that people feel is limited, while the beauty of nature is unlimited.

I often wonder about trivial problems.When I came to the hotel in Atami yesterday, the people at the hotel brought crabapple flowers that were different from the flowers in the alcove.I was so tired that I fell asleep early.Woke up at four o'clock in the morning and found that the Begonia flower was still awake.

I was surprised to find Hua Weimian.There are gourd flowers and tuberoses, as well as morning glories and albizia flowers, which bloom almost day and night.Flowers are sleepless at night.This is a well-known fact.But I just seem to understand.Staring at the crabapple flower at four o'clock in the morning, I feel that it is extremely beautiful.It blooms and has a sad beauty.

The well-known incident of Hua Weimian suddenly became an opportunity to discover flowers.The beauty of nature is limitless.The beauty that people feel is limited.Just because people's ability to feel beauty is limited, it is said that the beauty that people feel is limited, while the beauty of nature is unlimited.As for the beauty that a person feels in his life, it is limited, very limited.This is my actual feeling and my exclamation.People's ability to feel beauty neither advances with the times nor grows with age.The crabapple flowers at four o'clock in the morning should be said to be commendable.If it is said that a flower is beautiful, then sometimes I can't help but say to myself: I must live!

The painter Renoir said: "As long as there is a little progress, it is a step closer to death." How miserable it is!He added: "I believe I am still improving." These are his dying words.Michelangelo's dying words are also: "When things are finally expressed as they are expected, that is death." Michelangelo died at the age of 89.I like the shape of his face in a plaster cast.

Rather, it is relatively easy to develop the ability to feel beauty to a certain extent.It is difficult to imagine with the mind alone.Beauty is obtained by encounter and closeness.This needs to be cultivated repeatedly.For example, the only piece of ancient art has become the inspiration of beauty and the switch of beauty. There are indeed many such cases.So a flower is also good.

Gazing at a flower arrangement in an alcove, I thought to myself: Would I gaze at this same flower so carefully when it was naturally blooming?Only when I picked a flower and put it in a vase and placed it in a niche did I gaze at it intently.It's not just limited to flowers.As far as literature is concerned, today's novelists, like today's poets, generally do not observe nature very seriously.Probably very few chances to observe carefully.A flower is inserted in the alcove, and a picture of a flower is to be hung.The beauty of this painting is not less than that of real flowers. Of course, there are not many.In this case, if the painting is bad, the real flower looks all the more beautiful.Even if the flowers in the painting are beautiful, the beauty of real flowers is still very conspicuous.However, we pay close attention to the flowers in the paintings, but not so much to appreciate the real flowers.

Be it Li Di, Qian Shunju, Sotatsu, Korin, Yushu, and Koji, many times we appreciate the beauty of real flowers from their flower paintings.It's not just limited to flowers.Recently I put two small bronze statues on my desk: one is "The Woman's Hand" by Rodin, and the other is "Leda" by Maijol.From these two works alone, it can be seen that the styles of Rodin and Maijol are very different.Various gestures can be seen in Rodin's works, and women's skin can be seen in Maijol's works.It's amazing how carefully they observe.

My dog ​​gave birth, and when the puppy was staggering around, I was startled when I saw the tiny image of a puppy.Because its image is exactly the same as something.I realized that it was very similar to the puppy drawn by Sotatsu.It is the image of a puppy on spring grass in Sotatsu's ink painting.My family breeds a mongrel dog, not a good dog, but I deeply understand Sotatsu's noble spirit of realism.

At the end of last year, when I watched the sunset in Kyoto, I felt that it was exactly the same as the red used by Chojiro.I have seen a famous tea bowl called Yugure made by Chojiro before.The yellowish red glaze of this tea bowl is indeed the color of the evening sky in Japan, and it penetrates into my heart.I thought of Chawan when I looked up at the real sky in Kyoto.When looking at this tea bowl, I couldn't help but think of the paintings of Hanjiro Sakamoto.It was a small painting.The picture shows broken and disheveled cross-shaped clouds appearing on the evening sky of a lonely village in the wasteland.This is indeed the color of the Japanese evening sky, and it seeps into my heart.The colors of Kasai painted by Hanjiro Sakamoto and the teacups made by Chojiro are both Japanese colors.In Kyoto at sunset, I also thought of this painting.So Fanjiro's painting, Chojiro's teacup and the real evening sky all echo each other in my heart, making them even more beautiful.

At that time, I went to Honno-ji Temple to pay homage to Urakami Tamado's tomb, and it was dusk on my way home.The next day, I went to Lanshan to watch the jade hall stele carved by Lai Shanyang.Since it was winter, no one came to visit Arashiyama.But I discovered the beauty of Arashiyama for the first time.I've been here a few times before, and as a general place of interest, I didn't appreciate its beauty very well.Arashiyama is always beautiful.Nature is always beautiful.However, sometimes, this beauty is only seen by some people.

The reason why I was able to discover Hua Weimian was probably because I lived alone in a hotel and woke up at four o'clock in the morning.

Heart mark notes
Meeting Hua Weimian in the middle of the night, what a wonderful moment.However, a lot of beauty in life comes from encounters and closeness.The beauty you feel in life is limited, so you must seize every opportunity to feel beauty.Feeling the beauty is inseparable from the perception and appreciation of art, appreciating famous paintings, appreciating sculptures, listening to music... Really good works of art are reflections of natural beauty, and works of art that reflect natural beauty cannot be separated from careful observation of nature. Any kind of beauty needs to be cultivated repeatedly.The beauty of life is that emotions have been purified and sublimated in the spiritual temple, and in addition, it is based on a peaceful and comfortable heart.Hate nothing, gain something, and that's how beauty is born.

(End of this chapter)