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【Abstract】： Dionysian spirit and Apollonian are the core concepts of Nietzsche's aesthetics. As the internal essence of Greek tragedies， it affirms the sufferings and value of one's life. Besides， it helps to explain one's optimism and pioneering spirit when he is in trouble. Somehow， it coincides with Zhuangzi's idealistic spirit of freedom without dependence.
【Key words】：Nietzsche， Dionysian spirit， Zhuangzi
As we read through Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy， we find it discover and introduce again the Dionysian Spirit which created the duality of Apollonian and Dionysian as a standard of aesthetics. To put it in Nietzsche’s own word， despite all the flaws， he consider this first book has “two decisive innovations： first， its understanding of the Dionysian phenomenon among the Greeks： for the first time， a psychological analysis of this phenomenon is offered， and it is considered as one root of the whole of Greek art. Secondly， there is the understanding of Socratism; Socrates is recognized for the first time as an instrument of Greek disintegration， as a typical decadent. ‘Rationality’ against instinct. ‘Rationality’ at any price as a dangerous force that undermines life.”
For me， the best combination of Dionysian and Apollonian just like YinYang in Chinese Fengshui， comes from one of the greatest Greece films， Zorba the Greek. In the end of film， after all the conflicts， they set on a shore. Zorba is dressed in black and grey， deeper than any other color. He is the inner drive of life itself， while Basil is dressed in sheer white， with his noble appearance， he perfectly provides the image of calm and rational life. But when they start to dance， everything mixes， and in this symbolic way ends the story. Yet they will be apart very soon， Basil will come back to his daily life back in England again.
Dionysian state is like dream， it composes half of our life， but never be taken as reality. However， for Nietzsche， dreams are Truth， while Apollonian life is merely an illusion. What we have in dream is unbound， immoral and immortal. In dreams， we touch the bottom of existence. Zhuangzi， an ancient Chinese philosopher who is considered as an anti-rational figure， who admires the lively vivid essence of life in a way similar to Dionysus， has a famous dream， in which he became a butterfly. When he woke， he started to question， is the Zhuangzi dreaming of butterfly or is butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi？ In that sense， the boundary of dream and reality mingles. And in that dream， Zhuangzi experienced pure happiness without physical human body. Zhuangzi’s dream， same as Basil’s days in Crete， is a Dionysian experience， and within this state， the most fundamental problem they encounter， is the death of physical body. Dionysus revealed in the ancient Greek myths represents a sheer different attitude towards death.
As Nietzsche claimed， in these Greek festivals， for the first time nature achieves its artistic jubilee. They are the strange mixture and ambiguity in the emotions of Dionysian celebrant remind him， as healing potions remind him of deadly poison， of that sense that pain awakes joy， that the jubilation in his chest rips our cries of agony.
After experiencing the Dionysian state， nausea would be the most common symptom. A unique behavior people would act when truly traumatic news arrives is vomit， since those overwhelming feelings such as fear， sadness or despair all contain strong rejection to reality. But more than the negative denial， Dionysian state provides deeper initial passion， a complete joy， which provides a strong kind of constant self-assurance. Once you experience this self-assuring， you will have it all your life. It will not fade with time because it is forged by horror and despair.
Death is considered only as a pure idea but not real possibility. For Nietzsche， this division would not be a problem for the ancient Greeks， because they live in a way that Dionysian as part of the daily life. Take Achilles as an example. His emotion is extremely strong. The wrath of Achilles is what drives the whole Iliad story forward. And after he lost his beloved Patroclus， he feels such enormous pain. His mourn for Patroclus becomes the most moving part of Iliad. Then Achilles sponsors funeral games， consisting of a chariot race， boxing， wrestling， running， a duel between two champions to the first blood， discus throwing， archery and spear throwing. Here is what puzzles modern rational man： even in the death， the Greeks threw ecstatic celebrations.
The revenge of Achilles is bloody and merciless. Achilles did not take death as a threat， but as a normal consequence. The Greeks before Socrates possessed such a different view of death， which was deeply influenced by the Dionysian thoughts. They are sure of life’s purpose， although they do not know what it is. Thus， they take death as organic part of life. And in the end， symbolically， it was Apollo who helped Prince Paris killed Achilles. Indeed the God of Sun and Ration has every reason to detest the great rebelling hero. What should we do to restore the Dionysian state into Apollonian consciousness？ Art， especially tragic art serves as useful methods here. For through them we may indulge us again into the mysterious spree without shaking the stable foundation of daily life. He who responds to Oedipus responds to cruel and immortal destiny. He who responds to Antigone responds to unsolvable moral dilemma. And while the curtain falls or the book closes， everything is Apollonian normality again.
Myths and tragedies are the roots of all the other stories. When rationalism arises， unsurprisingly， tragedies would gradually decay. However， they will never disappear， because every time an individual confronts with the fundamental ultimate puzzle， he is forced to reflect them at least for a moment. Dionysus will appear then， assuring him by those negative feelings like madness， sadness or despair. This may sound ambiguous， but it is the very moment what we may call as The Birth of Our Own Truth.
Works Cited：
[1] Nietzsche， Friedrich. Ecce Homo： How One Becomes What One Is. Translated by R. J. Hollingdale. New York： Penguin Books， 1982.
[2] Nietzsche， Friedrich. "On the Genealogy of Morals" and "Ecce Homo". Translated and edited by Walter Kaufmann. New York： Vintage Books， 1969.
[3] Nietzsche， Friedrich， The Birth of Tragedy， Beijing： Central compilation & Translation Press， 2012.
【Key words】：Nietzsche， Dionysian spirit， Zhuangzi
As we read through Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy， we find it discover and introduce again the Dionysian Spirit which created the duality of Apollonian and Dionysian as a standard of aesthetics. To put it in Nietzsche’s own word， despite all the flaws， he consider this first book has “two decisive innovations： first， its understanding of the Dionysian phenomenon among the Greeks： for the first time， a psychological analysis of this phenomenon is offered， and it is considered as one root of the whole of Greek art. Secondly， there is the understanding of Socratism; Socrates is recognized for the first time as an instrument of Greek disintegration， as a typical decadent. ‘Rationality’ against instinct. ‘Rationality’ at any price as a dangerous force that undermines life.”
For me， the best combination of Dionysian and Apollonian just like YinYang in Chinese Fengshui， comes from one of the greatest Greece films， Zorba the Greek. In the end of film， after all the conflicts， they set on a shore. Zorba is dressed in black and grey， deeper than any other color. He is the inner drive of life itself， while Basil is dressed in sheer white， with his noble appearance， he perfectly provides the image of calm and rational life. But when they start to dance， everything mixes， and in this symbolic way ends the story. Yet they will be apart very soon， Basil will come back to his daily life back in England again.
Dionysian state is like dream， it composes half of our life， but never be taken as reality. However， for Nietzsche， dreams are Truth， while Apollonian life is merely an illusion. What we have in dream is unbound， immoral and immortal. In dreams， we touch the bottom of existence. Zhuangzi， an ancient Chinese philosopher who is considered as an anti-rational figure， who admires the lively vivid essence of life in a way similar to Dionysus， has a famous dream， in which he became a butterfly. When he woke， he started to question， is the Zhuangzi dreaming of butterfly or is butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi？ In that sense， the boundary of dream and reality mingles. And in that dream， Zhuangzi experienced pure happiness without physical human body. Zhuangzi’s dream， same as Basil’s days in Crete， is a Dionysian experience， and within this state， the most fundamental problem they encounter， is the death of physical body. Dionysus revealed in the ancient Greek myths represents a sheer different attitude towards death.
As Nietzsche claimed， in these Greek festivals， for the first time nature achieves its artistic jubilee. They are the strange mixture and ambiguity in the emotions of Dionysian celebrant remind him， as healing potions remind him of deadly poison， of that sense that pain awakes joy， that the jubilation in his chest rips our cries of agony.
After experiencing the Dionysian state， nausea would be the most common symptom. A unique behavior people would act when truly traumatic news arrives is vomit， since those overwhelming feelings such as fear， sadness or despair all contain strong rejection to reality. But more than the negative denial， Dionysian state provides deeper initial passion， a complete joy， which provides a strong kind of constant self-assurance. Once you experience this self-assuring， you will have it all your life. It will not fade with time because it is forged by horror and despair.
Death is considered only as a pure idea but not real possibility. For Nietzsche， this division would not be a problem for the ancient Greeks， because they live in a way that Dionysian as part of the daily life. Take Achilles as an example. His emotion is extremely strong. The wrath of Achilles is what drives the whole Iliad story forward. And after he lost his beloved Patroclus， he feels such enormous pain. His mourn for Patroclus becomes the most moving part of Iliad. Then Achilles sponsors funeral games， consisting of a chariot race， boxing， wrestling， running， a duel between two champions to the first blood， discus throwing， archery and spear throwing. Here is what puzzles modern rational man： even in the death， the Greeks threw ecstatic celebrations.
The revenge of Achilles is bloody and merciless. Achilles did not take death as a threat， but as a normal consequence. The Greeks before Socrates possessed such a different view of death， which was deeply influenced by the Dionysian thoughts. They are sure of life’s purpose， although they do not know what it is. Thus， they take death as organic part of life. And in the end， symbolically， it was Apollo who helped Prince Paris killed Achilles. Indeed the God of Sun and Ration has every reason to detest the great rebelling hero. What should we do to restore the Dionysian state into Apollonian consciousness？ Art， especially tragic art serves as useful methods here. For through them we may indulge us again into the mysterious spree without shaking the stable foundation of daily life. He who responds to Oedipus responds to cruel and immortal destiny. He who responds to Antigone responds to unsolvable moral dilemma. And while the curtain falls or the book closes， everything is Apollonian normality again.
Myths and tragedies are the roots of all the other stories. When rationalism arises， unsurprisingly， tragedies would gradually decay. However， they will never disappear， because every time an individual confronts with the fundamental ultimate puzzle， he is forced to reflect them at least for a moment. Dionysus will appear then， assuring him by those negative feelings like madness， sadness or despair. This may sound ambiguous， but it is the very moment what we may call as The Birth of Our Own Truth.
Works Cited：
[1] Nietzsche， Friedrich. Ecce Homo： How One Becomes What One Is. Translated by R. J. Hollingdale. New York： Penguin Books， 1982.
[2] Nietzsche， Friedrich. "On the Genealogy of Morals" and "Ecce Homo". Translated and edited by Walter Kaufmann. New York： Vintage Books， 1969.
[3] Nietzsche， Friedrich， The Birth of Tragedy， Beijing： Central compilation & Translation Press， 2012.