Chinese aesthetics emerged from the long-standing, profound Chinese history. The two-volume book The History of Chinese Aesthetics reviews the important thoughts and figures of Chinese aesthetics back to the ancient time, i.e. Pre-Qin Period and Han, Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern  Dynasties. Volume I covers the Pre-Qin Period and Han Dynasties. Built on the basic idea that beauty originates from mankind’s practice, it deals with the basic characteristics and path of Chinese aesthetics and identifies the object, mission and methodology of the research on the history of Chinese aesthetics. In this volume, the author holds that before Zen originated, Chinese aesthetics centered on the Confucian and Taoist aesthetic ideologies, as well as that embodied in Chu Ci (“Songs of Chu”) and Li Sao (“The Lament”). Volume II carries out an overall analysis of the aesthetic ideologies and theories in Xuanxue (“Mystic Learning”), Buddhology, literary criticism, calligraphy criticism, painting criticism, music criticism, and comments of figures in the Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties.