Classical Chinese Landscape Painting and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature

by Matthew Turner

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Where should we look for an aesthetic experience of nature? Many are drawn to grand scenery. The American national park system is a testament to our preference for such natural phenomena, as the great parks are organized around such natural features. The sequoias of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Yosemite Valley, and the Grand Canyon are all natural features to which tourists flock in order to have some kind of experience. But what kind of experience is this? The answers are diverse: some seek aesthetic experience, some seek religious experience, some seek a kind of cognitive experience—and other kinds of experiences that are as diverse as human purposes (and for some, not all unrelated).