Embodiment of Tao in artifacts: a philosophical comparison of Chinese and Western perspectives on Changsha Kiln ware
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper explores the paradigm differences between the Chinese concept of “Dao-bearing artifacts” and Heidegger’s idea of “gathering-unconcealment,” using the Changsha Kiln of the Tang Dynasty as a case study to examine the unified creation of artifacts in terms of ontology, functionality, and esthetics. The research question asks how the Changsha Kiln transformed the concepts of “Dao-artifact-use” and “manifestation-concealment-gathering” into a replicable, transmissible, and interpretable artifact structure. The methodology combines phenomenology and hermeneutics, involving a conceptual retrospective of Confucian, Daoist, and Heideggerian texts, and employs mutual-verification analysis using the underglaze color, molded appliqué, vessel types, and image genealogies of the Changsha Kiln. The main findings are as follows: the multi-colored underglaze integrates the image as an internal layer of the vessel, while the molded appliqué establishes an ontological order of “paradigm-instance-contingency.” Functionality reveals a three-ring nested structure of “artifact use-dissemination-institution,” and the cross-cultural schema incorporates the interpretation of the other into the structure. Esthetics analysis identifies “readable beauty” and “internally generated colors” as modes through which truth becomes perceptible. The conclusion argues that Changsha Kiln ware offers a historically situated case for understanding how artifacts may mediate Tao, embodied making, functional use, esthetic readability, and world-disclosure. Its significance lies not in providing a directly transferable model, but in offering a philosophical reference for reconsidering the tension between large-scale replication and singular difference, technical control and material contingency, and utility and esthetic value.
Authors: Lei Shi, Zhicheng Zhang, Fupeng Zhang
Institution: Central South University
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,890
OpenAlex ID: W7225835100
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