Abstract: There is a thought-provoking question in the study of Chinese and Western aesthetics: Are there any compatible conceptual grounds for these two aesthetic traditions to engage in dialogues? Among numerous Chinese and Western aesthetic thinkers, LIU Xie and F. W. J. Schelling are two outstanding representatives. Born in different times and growing up with diverse cultural traditions, they absorb various philosophical and aesthetic thoughts in art. However, their artistic views embody core ideas in Chinese and Western aesthetic traditions. By conducting a comparative study of their artistic appeals, we can find that they have expressed comparable and even amazingly similar ideas on artistic creation, creative inspiration, the relationships between nature and art, divinity and art, form and content, representation and interpretation, etc. Their profound insights have transcended the differences in cultural traditions and aesthetic awareness and touched deep dimensions of human aesthetic consciousness, hence capable of constructing a common ground for dialogues between Chinese and Western traditions and envisioning the possibility of a global aesthetic theory.

Key words: LIU Xie, Schelling, aesthetic thoughts, artistic creation, artistic views, Chinese and Western aesthetics