During the May Fourth Movement of the mid-1920s

Zhang Jingsheng advocated "an aesthetic outlook on life" and "an aesthetic society" while actively participating in the debate on "outlook on science and life

" i.e.

on reason and feelings. This post- Enlightenment debate was in fact a transcultural phenomenon across Europe and Asia. Zhang maintained that women should be the center of the "aesthetic society" because they are endowed with "feeling and love" and "beauty

" while men are more prone to "reason" and "pragmatism." Why should women

with their penchant for "feeling and love

" lead the future aesthetic society? What is the connection between "feeling and love" and "beauty" ? Since Zhang’s idea of an "aesthetic society" was inspired by Darwin

this paper is focused on how diverse interpretations of Darwinism exert significant influence on modern aesthetics

philosophy

psychology

sociology

and even feminism. The Chinese term "nüxing zhongxin shuo" (gynocentrism) was first translated from English into Japanese

and then adopted by Chinese intellectuals. It was a transcultural concept that connected intellectuals who called for the reform of gender relations in Europe

America

Japan and China.