Abstract
This chapter examines the themes appearing in the Dunhuang frescoes that illustrate the coexistence of humans and nature, their mutual and reciprocal relationships, and the living environment of humanity. Agriculture was the primary livelihood in ancient Chinese society; therefore, the most significant relationship for people was with nature. Often human beings interpret nature through symbolism, as displayed in the colorful and rich Dunhuang paintings. This study seeks insights from the natural world depicted in ancient China in order to reconnect and rekindle our love for and appreciation of nature and our environment as an important part of contemporary education. The purpose is to reverse the trend of human alienation from nature and to prevent the human destruction of nature via aesthetic education and inspiration.
This chapter is translated into English by Xu Di.
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Notes
- 1.
The group reflects the seasonal changes (including eight terms): start of spring, start of summer, start of autumn, and start of winter mark the four seasons; Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox, and Winter Solstice reflect the height changes of the Sun from the aspect of astronomy.
- 2.
A solar term is any of 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart along the Sun’s ecliptic and are used by lunisolar calendars to stay synchronized with the seasons, which is crucial for agrarian societies. Each solar term is divided into three pentads (ja) (候 hòu) (ja), so there are 72 pentads in a year. Each pentad consists of five, rarely six, days, and most are named after phenological (biological or botanical) phenomena corresponding to the pentad.
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Song Baoru (宋宝茹). (2019). Harmonious Coexistence with Nature: Naturalistic Education in the Dunhuang Frescoes. In: Di, X. (eds) The Dunhuang Grottoes and Global Education. Spirituality, Religion, and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13356-6_14
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