Oct 1st~4th, 2020
“Bie-modernism: The current challenges and the future of humanity international Conference” Report
By Zhang Shaowei, Shanghai Normal University
Xu Wei, Shanghai University of Engineering Science
The 2nd American & the 6th International Conference on Bie-modernism and Bie-modernist Art Online Exhibition, Oct. 1-4, 2020.
From October 1st to 4th 2020, “Bie-modernism: The current challenges and the future of humanity – A Dialogue between China and the West on Human Destiny, Art, Modernity, Truth, History, Space”, the 2nd American & the 6th International Conference on Bie-modernism and Bie-modernist Art Online Exhibition co-organized by academic institutions from the United States, China and Slovenia, was successfully held in Zoom online platform. More than 70 experts, scholars, artists, journalists from the US, China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Ireland, Slovenia, Brazil and other countries as well as over 80 American art students participated in the conference.
Bie-modernism is a doctrine that has attracted the attention of the international academic and artistic communities in recent years. Borrowing the origin from the oracle bone inscription of Chinese character Bie which means the separation of flesh and bones, Bie-modernism expresses the idea of distinguishing the true modernity from the pseudo modernity. Universities in the US and the European Union have established academic institutions and websites dedicated to the study of Bie-modernism (CCBMS, CBMS, http://www.biemodernism.net; www.biemodernism.org). Baidu has over 100 million hits about the topic.
Wang Jianjiang, member of the International Aesthetic Association (IAA), founder of Bie-modern theories, head of the Institute of Aesthetics and Aesthetic Education and the Department of Literary Arts at Shanghai Normal University, Aleš Erjavec, former president of the IAA, Rong Yueming, Director of Shanghai Cultural Research Center of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Chen Bohai, Researcher at the Institute of Literature of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Suzanne Smith, Provost of Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW), Keaton Wynn, Director of the Center for Chinese BieModern Studies (CCBMS) and Professor of Art and Art History, Department of Visual Arts, GSW, Ernest Zenko, Director of the Center for BieModern Studies (CBMS) and Professor of Communication and Humanities, Primorska University, Slovenia, Laurel Robinson, Chair of the Department of Visual Arts, GSW, Zuo Yilin, Director of the School of Fine Arts, City College of Lanzhou, David Brubaker, an independent scholar from the US, Zha Changping, Professor of Sichuan University and other scholars, participated in this transnational network conference and gave their keynote speeches. Keaton Wynn, Lynda Lee Purvis, Director of the President Jimmy Carter Leadership Program and Vice President Emerita, Laurel Robinson, Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at GSW, and Enea Bianchi, Scholar of the Department of Philosophy at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland, presided over the opening ceremony and the conference speeches respectively.
The opening ceremony of the conference was chaired by Keaton Wynn. Suzanne Smith and Wang Jianjiang made a wonderful speech to announce the official launch of the conference. On behalf of the university, Provost Suzanne Smith warmly welcomed the experts and scholars from around the world, saying, “The theory of Bie-modernism proposed by philosopher and aesthete Professor Wang Jianjiang is his contribution to the international academic exchange of ideas, which provides a platform for further research. Although the epidemic is still rampant in the United States, our university is willing to facilitate more research on Bie-modernism in order to promote its development.” Wang Jianjiang in his speech first expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the conference organizers and all the delegates who joined him in pushing the theory of Bie-modernism to new horizons. The theory of Bie-modernism has developed from the initial theory of social formations to the later theories of law and economics represented by life equity, and then to today’s theory of civilization enhancement, and all of these theories are closely related to aesthetics and art. In addition to the constant self-renewal of its founder, it is also inextricably linked to all of the participants. He wished the conference every success.
The conference was organized around the theme of “Bie-modernism: The current challenges and the future of humanity – Dialogue between China and the West on Human Destiny, Art, Modernity, Truth, History and Space”, and included three keynote speeches: “Bie-modern Civilization”, “Civilization, History, Politics and Others”, and “Aesthetics and Art”.
In the first keynote speech on the theme of Bie-modern civilization which is entitled “ On the Overall Promotion of Modern Human Civilization “, Wang Jianjiang, the founder of the Bie-modern theory, pointed out that modern civilization, as the host of barbarism, forces barbarism to take advantage of pseudo-modernism to flourish in Bie-modern societies, thus making pseudo-modernism the great enemy of modern civilization. The purpose of Bie-modernism is to distinguish between true and pseudo modernity, and to achieve a real kind of modernity on the basis of true modernity. In other words, that is to preserve modern civilization, to enhance it and to develop it. It is the historical mission of Bie-modernism to elevate all aspects of modern civilization to realize a full modernity. He pointed out that mankind has long since entered the stage of modern civilization, and it is only in modern civilization that the ancient civilization of mankind can shine again. Therefore, nationality and cosmopolitanism should be unified in modern civilization instead of being separated or even opposed to each other. He further pointed out that the Life Equity/Life Stocks that every human being is born with belongs to the bottom line of civilization, civilization within civilization, which shows its necessity, urgency and universality all the more in this global pandemic. Therefore, the “Republic” of Nations and Life Equity should be the new model for the future modern civilized nations. Mankind should formulate a new convention on human civilization through the United Nations in order to comprehensively upgrade modern civilization, which requires global cooperation and a good grasp of the basic elements: the right to information, life equity, the identification system of truth and falsehood, the head of state and government.
Aleš Erjavec in his “The Challenge of Bie-modernism and Some Open Issues” illustrates the convergence between Chinese and Western art, as seen in the size and number of exhibitions in the Aperto section of the Venice Biennale. Chinese art is no longer dependent on Western art and attempts to gain a dominant position in global art. Chinese art has to some extent borrowed from Western art expressions, but is more based on traditional techniques such as classical reliefs, stone, wood, plants and many other elements, thus forming a new avant-garde art that brings new challenges to contemporary art.
Chen Bohai, in his speech on “Bie-modern and Civilization Coordination”, pointed out that the “Bie-modern”, as an “alternative” modern civilization, is in relative terms to modern civilization that originated in Western Europe and North America. The “pre-modern”, based on the large industrial mode of production and its market orientation, provided the direction for the construction of modern civilization. The late developing nations, however, entered the modernization process under very different historical conditions. In order to achieve the equal status with the forerunner nations in a fair competition, they had to use the existing state power to directly intervene in the organization of production and the operation of the market, to catch up with the advanced countries and become part of the developed world within a relatively short period of time. There is a certain contradiction between the intervention of the power mechanism and the main body of the market, which is the focus of the current dispute between the “pre-modern” and the new “Bie-modern”. In this integrated and pluralistic modern world, we do not wish to see the clash of civilizations intensify, but rather look forward to the reconciliation and a timely adjustment of relations among nations in order to gradually overcome the inherent contradictions and raise the level of modernization.
Guo Yaxiong in his “From Bio-power to the Life Stock: Reflection on life During the Epidemic” analyzes the core mechanisms of contrasting Western life power —”zoē” and “bios”, stating that the power of life sets the boundaries between human and non-human, and destroys life in the name of protecting it. The theory of life in classical Chinese philosophy, on the other hand, unifies life and its manifestations directly, while Mencius and his followers take the inherent physiological nature of human beings as the natural basis of survival and development. He pointed out in this East-West contrast, Professor Wang Jianjiang’s theory of “life equity” affirms the natural sufficiency of human nature, and attempts to reveal the nature of human beings different from animals in the consumption of wealth, to promote the true nature of human beings and the concrete realization of their dignity, equality and value.
In his address “The Novel Coronavirus and Bie-modern Future “, Rong Yueming explains the impact of the pandemic on the international economic and political order, reshaping the global industrial chain and supply chain, affecting the international economy, politics, science and technology, and culture. The global culture industry system is undergoing structural transformation and system reshaping, thus providing an opportunity to build a Chinese discourse system in the globe. This opportunity is not only related to the expression and exchange of values, but also the construction of cognitive and intellectual systems. In this regard, Bie-modernism with its rapid spread around the world has demonstrated its enormous capacity of discourse building, which has become a shared discourse platform between China and the West with a broad prospect for development.
Keaton Wynn’s “The Lost Bricoleurs: From Biemodern to Bie-modernism” points out that the “Bie” of “Bie-modern” opens up a flexible and open discursive space, as a highly adaptable term that provides new ideas for identifying previously neglected Bie-modern realities, so that theoretical research does not become subservient to rigid ideologies. Therefore, it is of great academic value to both the East and the West, providing the necessary theoretical support for the transition of human society from theoretical and descriptive practices to normative practices. It has become an effective tool for major reforms and a powerful weapon against barbarism, thereby eliminating false modernity and pseudo-modernity and promoting the overall improvement of modern human civilization.
In the thematic discussion on “Civilization, History-Politics and Beyond”, David Brubaker, in his “Original Zhuyi and Bie-Culture: Daoist Aesthetics, Individuality, and Humanism in a Different Voice “, analyzes the connotation of “Bie-Cultures” and the inner connection between “Bie” and traditional Chinese aesthetics, confirming the theoretical origin of Bie-modern theory and the inner rationality and presupposition of its existence. The idea of self-cultivation in traditional Chinese aesthetics is obviously different from the Western view of nature and natural humanism, which provides the ideological and theoretical basis for the leapfrogging pause of Bie-modern theory. Bie-modernism is a theory based on local culture and social reality, and it also provides a new perspective, a new way of thinking and a theoretical vision for the construction of global civilization.
Zhou Ren’s “Bie: Between ‘Meta’ and ‘Post’” points out that “Bie-modern” has gradually evolved from an academic buzzword into a highly recognizable proprietary brand term. Because of its rich connotation in Chinese, “Bie” provides non-Western countries, including China, with a different perspective on modernity. As a creative academic term, “Be Modern” also opens up a philosophical expansion from epistemology to ontology, changing the overuse of “Meta” and “Post” philosophies resulting from relying on Western theoretical discourse to explain local phenomena. The rich connotation which the character “Bie” contains, endows it with a great ideological tension between “meta” and “post”, forming a brand new theoretical cognitive perspective.
With “Pseudo-Modernity and Western Reality”, Kerry Wynn suggests that theorists generally describe the Western understanding of history as a ternary paradigm that includes pre-modern, modern, and post-modern. This ternary division of history is an invention of Western discourse rather than a historical reality. In fact, the West and Bie-modern societies have a similar co-temporal existence. From this point of view, Bie-modern theory has a strong universal character. He also takes the short-lived Republican calendar during the French Revolution as an example, pointing out that the incisive period-cut may cause confusion, for the cutting from the object being inherited based on the inheritance of tradition may lead to the entanglement of incision and tradition, and the fuzziness of such entanglement is also clearly visible in Western history.
In her speech “Heterogeneity and Isomorphism Between China and the West in the Philosophy of Difference”, Guan Yu argues that with the rise of Bie-modernist philosophy, there is a certain degree of comparability and possibility for dialogue between Chinese and Western philosophies. The philosophy of Bie-modernism, which advocates “difference,” “distinction,” and “different from,” has some of its theories such as “time-spatialization”, “ development stage theory”, “leapfrogging pause” and “self-renewal” realize correspondence and isomorphism with Deleuze’s postmodern philosophy of difference. Both of these philosophies of difference, produced in a different time and space, break the logic of homogeneity between established philosophical theoretical frameworks and traditional philosophy, laying the foundation for a new critical thinking.
Peter I-min Huang, in his address “The Ghost God Dancing with the Bat: Bie-modernism and Covid-19”, pointed out that the difference of “Bie-modern” lies in the revival of the traditional Chinese Daoist thought of Laozi and Zhuangzi, which is also known by Bie-modernism as the original ideal of “returning to one’s true self” and focusing on the ontology of relationship. He emphasizes the importance of discussing Covid-19 from the perspective of ecological aesthetics, especially environmental humanism, because ecology also explores relational aesthetics rather than the fractured binary relationship between humanism and the environment, which has a certain relevance to Bie-modern theory.
In Li Chuang’s “ In Search of New Foundation of Chinese Contemporary Art Philosophy – Inspiration and Reflection of “Bie-modernism” Aesthetics,” he points out that the “Bie-modern” aesthetic theory not only establishes a bridge for dialogue between Chinese and Western aesthetics on an equal footing, but also provides a useful reference for the construction of a new philosophical foundation and critical paradigm for Chinese contemporary art. However, it is still necessary to consider how to further illustrate the new theory with artworks to enrich its connotation.
Taking the example of street art in Hong Kong during the Occupy period, Margaret Richardson discusses the psychological mechanism of the artists from different countries and regions repeatedly appropriating or “copying” the same themes and techniques from classical works of art in times of human change as well as the social reasons. She also discusses the inter relationship between some recent artworks produced in some parts of China and the theory of Bie-modernism. It is argued that these works integrate the multi-layered nature of Asian, European and American cultures from the past to the present, which is in line with the specific developmental stages of pre-modern, modern and post-modern, which are both juxtaposed and contradictory, as suggested by the Bie-modernist theory. Margaret also argues that the complex images of the artworks are real and vivid reflections of the contemporary context, and also provide a strong example for the theory of Bie- modernism.
In his speech “Novel Coronavirus and Aesthetics of Resistance to Barbarism,” Xiao Minghua explains the anti-social, anti-human, and anti-political features of barbarism shown by the Novel Coronavirus based on the global catastrophe it has caused. Thus, it is of necessity for us to construct aesthetics of resistance to barbarism which promote humanism and a politics of public connotations, as well as a concrete practice of aesthetic criticism. Reflecting on aesthetic modernity is not only a theoretical construction but also an action that needs to be implemented, and “leapfrogging pause”, a constructive concept of development, in Bie-modern theories plays an important role in this action.
Wang Hongyue’s “A Brief Discussion on Bie-modernist Poetic Thought of Contemporary Poet Gao Ping” points out that Bie-modern and Bie-modernism are different. The former is a theory of discourse that summarizes and describes contemporary China, which is a social and cultural form in a mixed state of pre-modern, modern and post-modern. The latter is a new and transcendent cultural form, including literature and poetics, in response to this mixed state. Gao Ping’s poetics of “filtered beauty” and “drowned beauty” straddles the boundaries of classical, modern, modern-contemporary and foreign poetics, thus forming a unique and unusual new poetics, which is closely related to Bie-modernism.
Zhang Jianfeng in his address “‘Post–Epidemic Era’ the Leap Forward End or Pause of Globalization”, uses Huntington’s “clash of civilizations”, Fukuyama’s “end of history”, Fei Xiaotong’s “cultural consciousness” and Wang Jianjiang’s “leapfrogging pause” to describe globalization and its future in the time of pandemic. With reference to the theory of “leapfrogging pause” in Bie-modern theories, he pointed out that the pandemic has indeed intensified economic de-Chinaization and counter-globalization, and may trigger a subsequent global clash of civilizations, and cause the leapfrogging end of globalization. However, it is also very likely to generate a global and holistic rethinking, thus constituting a leapfrogging pause in the development of globalization. The key of the active pause in the midst of rapid development lies in the ability to face up to the diversity of human civilizations and to rebuild a true community of human values on the basis of “beauty and commonality”.
Yang Yongmao’s “Bie-modernism” and the Construction of New Ecology of Modern World Civilization” points out that the theory of Bie-modernism is a new discursive framework for reconstructing the ontology, epistemology and methodology of modernity when the original dominant logic of modernity can no longer adapt to the new patterns and contradictions brought about by globalization. Bie-modernism provides a new form, a new ethics and a new paradigm for the development of human civilization. Its basic principles of freedom, openness, individuality, pluralism, difference, integration and coexistence are conducive to the construction of a new ecological system of global modern civilization that reflects the common values of mankind. The essence of Bie-modernism is the transformation from a single modernity to a differentiated, diversified and complex modernity. The reconstruction of the world modernity it advocates is not only the transformation of the space-time dimension, but also the multi-layered, multi-dimensional and multi-directional reconstruction of the value system of modernity. It is also the reconstruction of the faith that insists on the basic value concept of modernity and the ecological reconstruction of the diversified modern civilization of the world. The mission and vision of Bie-modernism is to build a new ecology of global modern civilization with modernity as its basic feature, unity of time and space, generality and particularity, and complementarity and synergy of various civilization forms as its purpose.
In “Bie-modern Perspective: A Reflection on Modern Life,” Jian Shengyu argues that the meaning of “Bie-modernity” is broad and applicable to realities in all parts of the world. Since the formation and establishment of modernity is not the ultimate goal while the maintenance and development of modernity still haunts the society, therefore, the “inhomogeneity” and “reversibility” of “modernity” is in inherent danger of alienating into “Bie-modernity”. The above arguments are based on his experience of studying in the United States and his reflections on the evolution of “modernity” in contemporary developed countries using the United States as a reference point.
In the seminar on “Aesthetics and Art”, Ernest Zenko argues that the “temporal spatialization” theory of Bie-modernism denies the linear historical development of society as well as the period-cut history, and shows the spatialization of time. Although different from Western spatial theories, there are some similarities with Foucault’s theory in terms of language function. Exotic topology, as a way of thinking about other spaces (heterotopia), can be an important conceptual tool not only for grasping current politics and culture, but also for prompting people to move beyond a single culture and social type. In this way, Foucault’s spatial theory shares some features with Bie-modernist spatial theory which needs to be further investigated.
Zha Changping’s “The Surface and Deep Significances of the Mixed-modern” points out that the “mixed modern” in Chinese contemporary art and culture has both surface and deep meanings. In Chinese contemporary art culture, “mixed modernity” has an apparent meaning, which is the fusion of pre-modernity, modernity, post-modernity and another modernity, while its deeper meaning refers to the mixture of various relationships. With his theory of “Aesthetics of World Relations,” he analyzes the confused aesthetic world represented by the Shanghai Biennale and critically reflects on the modern transformation of Chinese society, which has encountered the dilemma of the times and the test of the utopian vision.
Shi Hong uses Bie-modern theories to explain the inner composition mechanism and aesthetic features of Chinese modern dance, and analyzes the originality of Chinese modern dance on the basis of integrating Chinese and Western cultures from three aspects: culture, creative thinking and dance language. Through the process of modern art development, Ding Weiyin points out that almost all art forms are influenced by various artistic ideas from different cultures, and that the mutual exchange and integration of different artistic ideas promotes the continuous development of art, which is also in line with the viewpoints of hybrid and juxtaposition in Bie-modern theories to a certain extent.
By analyzing the problem of blindly pursuing economic effects and pursuing Western artistic techniques and skills, Jordan Walker points out that Chinese contemporary art is more commodity than art. The Bie-modern theories provide a theoretical basis for the development of art. Bie-modernist arts point to the real reality, i.e., created from the unique perspective of China, by using Western techniques on the one hand, and referring to China’s own rich philosophical and cultural history on the other hand, which is regarded as the only way to achieve real artworks and artistic creation.
Zuo Yilin exhibits and explains his selected works for this international online exhibition of Bie-modernist Art. His works deeply contemplated life and existence, world peace and the future of mankind during the pandemic, combining abstract rational thinking with figurative imagery thinking to reflect on real life, which in a certain sense presents the characteristics of Bie-modernist artworks. Wang Shasha’s Bie-modernist installation art of putting a Band-Aid on a broken cliff wall is unique. Juliann Wang explains how she extracted and created such installations as suspended and congested roads from the photography of Chinese township markets and urban traffic, showing the inspiration brought by the chaotic and mixed reality. She tries to reveal the deep connotation behind the appearance of social life under the influence of the pandemic, and explore the fate of human beings and the true existence of life, which objectively explain the universal value of Bie-modern theories.
The International Bie-modernist Art Online Exhibition held during the conference, presented nearly 100 works of easel art and videos from around the world, many of which integrated human activities containing COVID19 and have realism and contemporality of Bie-modernism. Eighty students from Department of Fine Arts, Georgia Southwestern State University actively participated in the exhibition by incorporating it into their required professional practice courses.
At the closing ceremony of the conference, Associate Professor Justin Hodges, Deputy Director of the Center for Chinese Bie-modern Studies, gave a concluding speech. Justin Hodges thanked all the experts and scholars for their wonderful speeches and praised their profound ideas for opening up a very different perspective and way of thinking. At the same time, he also pointed out that although Bie-modernism is an original theory based on China’s national conditions, it is more global; although there may still be a certain distance between its theory and practice, it has provided an effective new path for mankind. Bie-modernist art provided a new stage for aesthetic discourse and aesthetic experience, and opened an entry point for different ideas. The breadth and profundity of theory lies in guiding practice, which is the pursuit and purpose of the International Conference of Bie-modernism and the Bie-modernist Art Online Exhibition, and we have witnessed the realization of this purpose through this Bie-modernist Art Exhibition.
All in all, the participants commented that this international academic conference and international Bie-modernist art online exhibition was far-sighted and rewarding, and that it was full of innovative spirit to face the challenge of pandemic, think about the whole world and pay attention to the destiny of mankind. At the same time, Bie-modern theory was sublimated and updated in this conference. As Prof. Wang Jianjiang, the founder of Bie-modern theories said, if the time-spatialization and its derivative theories belong to version 1.0 and the theory of life equity belongs to version 2.0, then the theory of overall improvement of modern civilization is the 3.0 version of Bie-modern theories.
The conference was webcast live in both Chinese and English, with Dr. Xu Wei from the Shanghai University of Engineering Science as translator.
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