On the Emotional Context Theory of the Mass Art Transmission

Zhou Zhou，Guo Puli

(School of Foreign Languages Xidian University，Xi’an Shaanxi710126)

Ⅰ.The teory concerning emotion

Emotional culture is the core of Chinese culture.Ancient scholars tend to define the expression of emotion according to the form，and instead，neglecting the interpretation of emotional context as a whole.It is justifiable to say that the connection between context and emotion is the most important factor in ancient literature.Emotion is not only something expressed by literature，but can be seen everywhere in people’s life，ranging from material aspects，such as manufacturing and life，to spiritual aspects，such as entertainment，belief and art，thus forming a peculiar type of literary heritage of a nation.Obviously，any type of external technological means or materials are unable to replace emotional context，and any type of domain of critical discourse cannot exist without considering the mass emotion as the motive power of social reform.

However，the most serious problem is that as the“most vivid，complicated and widespread carrier”，emotion supports the production and life wish of the masses which cannot be directly perceived through ordinary reading practice.Besides，the material and spiritual mode of the masses bred by emotion are beyond the ordinary literature criticism，which fails to perceive the popular emotion.Emotion，which is capable of nurturing the taste and cultural quality of the masses and accumulating national spirit，tends to be veiled by the superficial beauty in form of the literature works.Apparently，emotional context discusses the“cultural standard”which exists between humans and social ethics，humans and social system as well as humans and life rules.Emotion boasts great aesthetic value in its sentimental form of literature image and its inner aesthetic implication.

Raising the opinion that“emotion is the core”will contribute to the restoration of the survival aesthetics unique to Chinese culture.Putting forward the idea of“emotional normal form”will help us have a better understanding of emotion theories in the western social domain of discourse，and then return to the specific emotional context of Chinese culture.Therefore，exploring“emotion”from the perspective of literature context will motivate the creativity in terms of social domain of critical discourse.

Ⅱ.Connotation of emotional context

Chinese literary theory regards literature as the core context of social transformation.Emotional domain of discourse refers to establishing the situation of Feng(ballads)，Ya(festival odes)and Song(sacrificial songs).Different domains of discourse provide different interpretation of life emotions.Individuals have been given the identity of tribes，and emotions the taste of culture against various backgrounds.Therefore，the connotation of emotional context includes lifestyles，architecture patterns，food culture and table manners.To date，many nationalities’folk songs have still been blended with their local natural conditions，and the modern art also attempts to return to tradition to present its connotation.

1.Blood and flesh — the emotional context based on clan humanity

Chinese literary theory places high standard on literary criticism in the social domain of discourse.Emotional theories involve the entire study and basic knowledge of Chinese culture，covering various subjects，including the theory of literature and art，history，traditional Chinese medicine，sociology，folklore，anthropology and religious studies.Emotion，based on the present situation of a group of people，is manifested in the moral of their survival ritual，which cannot be announced by language.

Apparently，the oracle or realm of the Oriental is the core in discussing domains of discourse，and other concepts are used to support，protect，enrich and present the silent connotation of emotion.For instance，Confucian school defines the study of emotion as“benevolence”，namely“thinking purely”;Taoist school refers to Yin and Yang，namely the two opposing principles in nature，as the virtue of the context of the masses;Lu Xun emphasizes the importance of the emotion of Chinese people.Emotional context has been able to directly transform complicated logical thinking into an entire domain of discourse.It is like language compression software，which makes a zip file out of Chinese literature.We can open the file through context at any time and then download the domain of discourse.The emotional context has created a brandnew cultural landscape，namely a new，rich，diversified and harmonious social domain of discourse，which helps humans to return to the integrated tribal culture.

2.Habit and custom — the emotional context based on the etiquette of the ethnic groups

The emotional context is the fundamental problem to the study of poem and even literature.Emotional context helps to establish the social culture of ethnic groups from the perspective of anthropology;Culture，as the ritual procedure of farming life，provides a vivid description of human context.Language，as a sign of cultural identity，is the symbol of real life context.Folk songs express the collective consciousness of human tribes，thus avoiding the insular ethnic nationalism and linguistic hegemony.Therefore，the ancient context still remains in Chinese culture，which is irrelevant to modernism and postmodernism.

The cultural attitude towards context and the criteria for criticism of returning to people’s livelihood context contribute to our understanding of Chinese literature.The basis of literature and history lies in returning to context.The narration of folk context is the supreme principle of language，which cannot be transcended by literati wisdom，and any change will destroy the natural system of this principle，which is in line with the results of modern anthropology.

3.State and home — the emotional contest based on human nature

Based on the nature of Chinese ethical system，folk songs are thus defined as“thinking purely”.Folk songs，with their elegance and integrity，show no sign of affectedness，nor do they pursue aesthetics of forms.Instead，folk songs express“love”identified by the world from tribes and natural care.The theory of emotional context，based on the arrangement of classical literature and documents，helps to reveal and explore Chinese literature theories and critical popular literature tradition as national context

We should recognize the basic principles，literati thoughts and social domain of discourse through the abundant Chinese context resources，such as the Book of Songs，the Songs of Chu，poetry of the Tang Dynasty，Ci of the Song Dynasty，the opera of the Song Dynasty and novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasty.We should step out of the blind spot of modern cognitive linguistics，regain the importance attached to literature context by Confucianism，break through the dominant opinions on literature works brought by western individual culture，thus giving a comprehensive interpretation of the humanity，folk custom，ritual procedures and tribes，reproducing the glory and magnificence of Chinese culture and literature context and achieving mastery through a comprehensive study on viewpoints of various schools.With the coming of globalization and information age，great efforts should be made to advocate our emotional tradition and establish new literature context and mass media，moving forward to the social domain of discourse.Finally，based on the identity of the whole society，Chinese literature will embrace a comprehensive contextual construction of the individual，tribal and social level，thus leading to a brand-new Chinese culture featuring multi-nationalities，multi-culture and multi-context.

Ⅲ.Wandering of the emotional criticism

1.From confucius to Yu Qiuyu — the cultural wandering of the emotional context

The nature of Confucianism is to nurture the masses’emotional context.However，the cultural fault of Confucianism lies in the fact that no public folk domain of discourse has been established，and instead，it serves the end for maintaining royal power.Fortunately，the introduction of Buddhism bridges the gap and explains the development route of emotion context.In one word，Confucius，who led a wandering life，opens the door of care for people’s emotion.

The new culture of mass emotion has laid foundation for the modern national character.Emotional context refers to something concerning the return of mass culture，instead of a narrow problem of discipline construction of art and literature，or simple literary criticism.Care for the massed has been identified by literature context concerning culture and society.It seems that Yu Qiuyu doesn’t have to sigh for the fate of civilian girls.

2.From Chuang Tse to Jin Yong — the rare curios wandering of the emotional context

Emotional culture is a unique normal form of Chinese scientific system，which is referred to as Chinese cultural pattern by many foreign scholars，indicating their comprehensive affirmation of Chinese traditions.Chinese popular culture boasts abundant craftsmanship，architecture，village patterns，wine culture，tea culture and cooking culture unmatched all around the world.The nurture and education of emotion is regarded as the foundation of social stability，pure folk customs and civilized etiquette in China，which is also a steady cultural pattern not inferior to that of the modern society.It can be said that Xiao Yao You，namely peripateticism，written by Chuang Tse，sends a sharp weapon for Ne Zha，a mythological boy with supernatural power.

The emotional context of mythological domain of discourse and others need our scientific protection and careful study so as to restore the spirit of“people first”and further establish a popular mode among the masses according to its connotation.Jin Yong has set up an Oriental emotional world by his swordsman stories，which are full of martial arts，romantic love，poetic image and vulgar life.

Ⅳ.Considering art as a glass of wine

With the development of human civilization，the Oriental“emotional theory”has been pushed into an obscure academic corner，ignored，or even excluded from the science domain.The loss of emotional context leads to the neglecting of our root.Therefore，the system of mode construction is just one step forward of theoretical cognition towards cultural belongingness，and the“emotional theory”serves as the core value and behavior guidance of historical development.This theory is in line with the concept“self cultivation，family harmony，country management and world peace”has been emphasized by academic masters of various dynasties.Emotional theory is not mere aesthetics or living experience，but a mass ritual，which manifests as the emotional construction of popular literature featuring both traditional cultural deposits and the exploration of a new realistic world.

Supposing that art is a glass of wine，then it is perhaps the broad mind of the Jin Dynasty，the great ambition of the Tang Dynasty，or the desolation of the Song and Yuan Dynasty that can truly represent emotion.Whatever kind of emotion it is，you should first drink it all，namely“draining the cup with one gulp”rather than sipping the wine while holding yourself aloof or thinking about it unhurriedly before taking action.

It is hoped that the construction of emotional context will contribute to the returning of Chinese popular culture.

Notes:

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