对称---中国人的美学
Symmetry --- Chinese aesthetics
古希腊哲学家毕达哥拉斯说,一切美的形式,都必须是对称的形式。
The ancient Greece philosopher Pythagoras said that all forms of beauty must be symmetrical forms.
我们先来看两组图片
Let's start with two sets of images
这是京剧非对称脸谱,俗称歪脸,它构图色彩都不对称。歪眉毛,斜眼睛,五官挪位,让人感到狰狞和扭曲。
This is an asymmetrical face of Peking Opera, commonly known as a crooked face, and its composition and color are asymmetrical. Crooked eyebrows, slanted eyes, and features are displaced, making people feel hideous and distorted.
这是著名的非对称建筑,巴黎的倾斜双子塔,它看起来摇摇欲坠,让人感到紧张不安。
It's the famous asymmetrical building, the tilting twin towers of Paris, which look crumbling and make people nervous.
这是摄影里的非对称构图,很多惊悚片都喜欢用这种构图。 偏离中心的倾斜,让人有一种失衡感和压迫感。
This is the asymmetrical composition of photography, which many thrillers like to use. The off-center tilt gives people a sense of imbalance and oppression.
美学是我们心灵最重要的感受,当我们心烦意乱时,看这些照片会加剧我们的焦虑,会加剧我们的不安。
Aesthetics is the most important feeling of our mind, and when we are upset, looking at these pictures can exacerbate our anxiety and can exacerbate our uneasiness.
我们再来看另外一组图。
Let's look at another set of graphs.
这是对称的京剧脸谱,这是对称的中式建筑,这是对称的摄影。
This is a symmetrical Peking Opera mask, this is a symmetrical Chinese architecture, this is a symmetrical photography.
当我们眼睛看到对称,立马就能够获得一种稳定、平静、美好的感受。它带来统一和谐的感觉,对我们的心灵有很强的镇定作用。
When we see symmetry in our eyes, we are immediately able to get a sense of stability, calmness, and beauty. It brings a sense of unity and harmony and has a strong calming effect on our minds.
这个世界的美有很多标准,但对于我们中国人来说,对称却是最重要的标准。
There are many standards for beauty in this world, but for us Chinese, symmetry is the most important standard.
梁思成说过,无论东方西方,再没有一个名族,对中轴对称线有如此的热爱。
Liang Sicheng said that no matter in the East or the West, there is no famous family that has such a love for the symmetry line of the central axis.
事实上,全世界都有对称。
In fact, there is symmetry all over the world.
但没有一个国家,能像我们国家一样,将对称能够做到如此极致。
But no other country has been able to achieve such extreme symmetry as ours.
大到一座城市,小到一张剪纸,甚至我们日常说话,也还是“两个黄鹂鸣翠柳,一行白鹭上青天“。
As big as a city, as small as a paper-cut, and even when we talk in our daily life, it is still "two yellow orioles singing green willows, and a line of egrets going to the blue sky".
中国人对对称有如此深刻的理解,这完全源自于我们传统观念里的道法自然,这完全源自于中国古人有向大自然学习的能力。
The Chinese have such a deep understanding of symmetry, which is entirely derived from our traditional concept of Taoism and nature, which is entirely due to the ability of the ancient Chinese to learn from nature.
我们中国古人觉得,大自然里飘落的雪花是对称的,星系的螺旋是对称的,,海浪的起伏是对称的, 植物中最美的昙花、山茶花是对称的,动物中我们看的最顺眼的蝴蝶、海豚、老虎、孔雀开屏也是对称的。
We ancient Chinese felt that the snowflakes falling in nature were symmetrical, the spirals of galaxies were symmetrical, the ups and downs of the waves were symmetrical, the most beautiful epiphany and camellia in plants were symmetrical, and the butterflies, dolphins, tigers, and peacocks that we saw most pleasing to the eye among animals were also symmetrical.
甚至连我们的人体本身都是对称的。
Even our human body itself is symmetrical.
在西方科学家的研究里,他们也说,对称是宇宙最精妙的设计。
In the research of Western scientists, they also say that symmetry is the most exquisite design of the universe.
所以伽利略研究了单摆,阿基米德研究了球体,惠更斯研究了圆,道尔顿研究了原子。
So Galileo studied the single pendulum, Archimedes studied the sphere, Huygens studied the circle, and Dalton studied the atom.
但其实我们中国的古人,早就把对称融入进我们的生活中。
But in fact, our ancient Chinese people have long integrated symmetry into our lives.
所以我们的城市尽显对称之美,
So our city is full of symmetry,
唐朝的长安,宋朝的汴京,明朝的北京,都是对称的建筑。
Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, Bianjing in the Song Dynasty, and Beijing in the Ming Dynasty were all symmetrical buildings.
我们的古代建筑,故宫、天坛等等也都是绝对的对称。
Our ancient buildings, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and so on, are also absolutely symmetrical.
就连我们的传统家具、对联,也要把对称用到极致。
Even our traditional furniture and couplets need to use symmetry to the extreme.
关于对称,我们中国人认为,这种有规律的重复,井然有序的排列,会在美学上带来庄严肃穆,会在心灵上带来有条不紊的和谐感受。
Regarding symmetry, we Chinese believe that this regular repetition and orderly arrangement will bring solemnity aesthetically and a sense of orderly harmony in the soul.
对称之美就这样,一代代延续在我们的建筑中,包括我们的现代建筑,东方明珠,水立方,鸟巢,仍然是对称的风格。
The beauty of symmetry is like this, and it continues in our buildings from generation to generation, including our modern buildings, the Oriental Pearl, the Water Cube, the Bird's Nest, which are still symmetrical styles.
可以说,对称甚至铸就了中国人独特的精神世界,铸就了中国人独特的性格。
It can be said that symmetry has even forged the unique spiritual world of the Chinese and the unique character of the Chinese.
最后,请大家欣赏一则视频,感受中国几何之美。
Finally, please enjoy a video to feel the beauty of Chinese geometry.