何为“景”？——对景观的现象学考察

What is "Jing" (scene, landscape)? Phenomenological Investigation on Scene

关键词:  风景园林  景的本质  现象学方法  驻留态度  环境对象  景的意义

Key words:  landscape architecture  essence of Jing  phenomenological method  stationed attitude  environment object  meaning of Jing

摘要:

景是每个人都遇见过的现象。实证科学对景观进行了大量研究，但对景观的核心“景”的本质的考察仍有不足。采用现象学方法考察景的本质，以“景 是一种特别的环境”为突破口，初步将景定义如下。1)一种具有自身意义的环境对象，该意义由景内事物和人的生存论意义-情感体验聚合而成，且依赖于景内事 物。观景即观看景内事物聚合和展现此意义的过程。此间，视觉和人与环境互动的时间性背景是必要环节。2)诱发人的驻留态度，并本质上相关于此态度。景的 意义在驻留态度中最终实现。这一定义有助于统一地理解景观现象，并揭示景对人的意义

Abstract:

This article employs a phenomenological approach to deeply examine the concept of "Jing" (scene, landscape) - a common yet philosophically underexplored phenomenon. While empirical sciences have extensively studied landscapes, a systematic inquiry into the essential nature of "scene" remains lacking. The author proposes that "a scene is a distinctive type of environment", and offers a unified definition to comprehend various landscape phenomena. The essay begins by noting that the contemporary usage of "landscape" has expanded to include constructs such as "service landscape", "olfactory landscape", and "soundscape", resulting in conceptual ambiguity. Against this backdrop, reexamining the essence of "scene" carries significant theoretical value. This article contends that a scene is not merely a physical environment, but an environmental object endowed with its own meaning. This meaning emerges from the aggregation of elements within the scene and the existentialemotional experiences of human beings, reliant on those very elements. Thus, viewing a scene entails not only visual perception but also participating in the process of meaning-making. Methodologically, this paper adopts Husserlian phenomenology, particularly eidetic intuition and free imaginative variation, to isolate contingent empirical factors and apprehend the necessary attributes of "scene". Phenomenology helps distinguish between the "scene itself" (the noema) and the "experience of the scene" (the noesis), thus avoiding the conflation of subjective feelings with objective properties of the scene. Through rigorous analysis, the author identifies three inseparable essential elements of a scene: 1) a scene is an "environmental object". This means that while it is grounded in the environment, its mode of presentation is fundamentally different from that of an environment in general. Typically, the environment remains in the background as "non-thematic" - a vague field wherein our activities and perceptions occur. Our interest "penetrates" through it, directed straight toward specific entities within the environment. A scene, however, "emerges" from this background to become an explicit "theme" or "object" of our conscious attention. It is therefore distinct from those background portions of the general environment that are "penetrated" and ignored. Moreover, owing to its aggregative nature, it possesses clearly defined boundaries and internal unity. 2) A scene possesses its own meaning. This meaning is not externally imposed but disclosed through the specific presentation of things within the scene (e.g., mountains, trees, buildings). It integrates material qualities with human affectiveexistential experiences - such as grandeur, tranquility, desolation, or vibrancy. 3) A scene elicits and is intrinsically tied to a stationed attitude. This attitude invites individuals to suspend practical or cognitive engagements and immerse themselves in the scene. Only through such contemplative dwelling can the meaning of the scene be fully realized. The article also emphasizes the primacy of vision in constituting a scene. Unlike other senses, vision simultaneously apprehends objects and their background, revealing the "co-presence" and "latency" of the environment. This allows elements within the scene to aggregate and manifest meaning cohesively. Thus, scene-viewing is primarily a visual act. Notions such as "soundscape" or "olfactory landscape" are largely metaphorical extensions rather than strict instances of "scene". On a broader philosophical level, the author suggests that this framework applies not only to natural and cultural landscapes but may also bridge perceptual "scenes" and cognitive "scenarios", as both involve the "synthesis of parts into a meaningful whole". The essential structure of "scene" transcends historical and spatial contingencies; even as human scales of interaction evolve, this constitution is likely to endure. The theoretical contribution of this work lies in offering a clear phenomenological framework for landscape studies, clarifying the distinction between scene and non-scene, deepening the understanding of the relationship between people, environment, and meaning, and providing insights for landscape design, environmental aesthetics, and cultural studies.