Abstract: In the year of 2025, various AI models and tools have been fully integrated into China's design and artistic creation fields, making AI-assisted design a common and mainstream practice across all design disciplines. An overview of China's AI design trends in 2025 reveals that highlighting human subjectivity in the "human-AI co-creation" process has gradually become a consensus. Evaluating the aesthetic quality and artistic standards of AI-generated design works has emerged as a hot topic in discussions in the field, while theoretical reflection and guidance based on critique are also safeguarding the high-quality development of future AI design. This presents both unprecedented opportunities and new challenges for China's design fields.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, design, human-AI co-creation, aesthetic evaluation, theoretical criticism, annual review

■ From Tool to Structure: Reshaping the Paradigms and Subjectivities of Musical Creation Forms by Generative Artificial Intelligence in 2025 （PP. 18–26）Li Xiaobing

Abstract: In 2025, generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of musical creation achieved a paradigm shift from "instrumental generation" to "structural embedding," marking the transition of musical production from a phase of efficiency augmentation to a new stage characterized by systemic reconstruction. AI no longer functions merely as a creative tool; instead, it is embedded into the core nodes of the creative workflow, reshaping the organizational logic of arrangement, melody writing, and complex compositional forms. This article conducts an analysis from three dimensions—technological evolution, workflow reconfiguration, and the transformation of subject structure—arguing that the maturation of end-to-end generative models and editing-oriented workflows has shifted musical creation from "manual execution" to "system design and aesthetic decision-making." On this basis, the article proposes "Machinism" as an analytical concept to elucidate the mechanisms of meaning production and the restructuring of subjectivity under conditions of human–machine collaboration, thereby providing a theoretical framework for defining the creative subject in the era of intelligent technologies. The term "subjectivity form" mainly refers to the configuration of subject structure within the relational framework of human–machine–platform interactions.

Keywords: musical artificial intelligence, generative creation, human–machine collaboration, creative paradigm, machinism, annual review

■ Creative Experimentation and the Contest for Subjectivity:How AI Participates in Literary Production in 2025（PP. 27–34）Wang Yusu

Abstract: In 2025, with the advancement of AI technologies, AI's participation in literary production is no longer confined to niche literary experimentation but has become a widespread reality. In the field of serious literature, literary competitions involving human–machine co-creation encourage the exploration of new possibilities in AI writing while also exploring in depth the issue of copyright infringement raised by such practices. Within the cultural industries, exemplified by online literature, human–machine collaboration not only serves as a powerful means of enhancing creative efficiency but also introduces new managerial challenges, including large-scale content rewriting (so-called "text laundering" or "content plagiarism"). AI writing appears unstoppable, yet it remains mired in controversy. As AI-generated literary texts begin to pass the Turing Test, the question of whether human beings, as the subjects of literary creation, still retain their distinctiveness and necessity is brought into fundamental doubt.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, AI writing, aura, annual review

■ Literature and Art Empowering Economic Development in 2025: Values, Paths and Prospects （PP. 35–46）Xiang Yong

Abstract: 2025 stands at a pivotal juncture, marking the conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the blueprinting of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The relationship between literature and art and the economy is shifting from that of a "supporting role" to an "empowering leading role", with culture and art emerging as a key factor in energizing industrial vitality and shaping the core competitiveness of the economy. Against the macro backdrop of China's modernization, the construction of a culturally strong country and the cultivation of new productive forces, the empowerment of economic development by literature and art presents four dimensions of epochal values: humanistic, livelihood, industrial and strategic. It achieves the in-depth integration of cultural values and economic development through four innovative paths, namely narrative-driven development, scene reconstruction, subject activation and spatial construction. In line with the epochal requirements of nurturing new productive forces and advancing common prosperity, the future development directions and evolutionary laws of literature and art empowering the economy can be explored from five dimensions: the return to humanism, the benevolent application of intelligence, the deepening of integration, balanced development and institutional guarantee.

Keywords: Literature and Art Empowering Economic Development, new-quality productive forces, humanistic economy, annual review

Theoretical Explorations

■ Oriental Vision: Exploring the Cultural Subjectivity of Chinese Photographic Art （PP. 47–61）Xu Xijing

Abstract: Since the New Culture Movement, photography, as a modern visual medium, has been widely embraced by Chinese intellectual elites, who have actively explored the integration of Chinese aesthetic spirit and traditional imagery in their creative practices. This marks the beginning of a conscious process of localization in Chinese photography. Early photographic pioneers consciously adapted traditional aesthetics to accommodate photographic technology, and at the stylistic level initially established a sense of cultural subjectivity. From the founding of the People's Republic of China to the period before the Reform and Opening-up, photography had been closely aligned with dominant ideological discourse, and its "cultural subjectivity" was manifested through institutionalized visual construction and standardized image paradigms. Since the Reform and Opening-up, photographic art in China has developed in a diversified manner. Landscape photography, due to its affinity with traditional aesthetics, has become one of the mainstream forms, while photography has also emerged as an important medium of expression in contemporary art. From the 1990s to the present, more artists have based their work on indigenous cultural resources, appropriating and translating traditional artistic forms while using photographic practice to critically engage with themes such as social transformation, living environments, and urbanization. This has generated contemporary discourses centered on historical and cultural motifs. Throughout its development, Chinese photographic art has remained rooted in its own socio-cultural context. While absorbing and transforming external influences, it has continuously drawn nourishment from the rich traditions of Chinese culture and from the advanced culture of socialist society, gradually forming a developmental path with its own internal logic and cultural subjectivity.

Keywords: Chinese photography, Chinese aesthetic spirit, cultural subjectivity, landscape aesthetics, pictorial photography

■ On the Mediated Representation of the Spiritual Markers of Chinese Civilization in Documentary Film （PP. 62–72）Niu Guangxia

Abstract: The spiritual markers of Chinese civilization constitute a symbolic system that crystallizes the distinctive traits and value aspirations of the Chinese nation. The mediated representation of these spiritual markers of Chinese civilization in documentary film should focus on two core dimensions—content and form—thereby addressing the questions of "what to film" and "how to film it". At the level of content, it is necessary to select and distill spiritual markers that possess qualities of foundational nature, broad consensus, and generative potential. At the level of form, through narrative strategies and aesthetic practices—such as transforming the static into the dynamic, the abstract into the concrete, fostering dialogues between past and present, and integrating Chinese and global perspectives—static symbols can be transformed into dynamic collective memories that are perceptible and capable of evoking empathy. Against the backdrop of the digital-intelligence era, characterized by profound transformations in the media ecology and the deepening of global dialogue, existing creative paradigms are confronted with new challenges. Consequently, future documentary production must pursue paradigm innovation and conceptual renewal across four key dimensions: history, dialogue, technology, and audience.

Keywords: documentary film, spiritual markers of Chinese civilization, mediated memory, artistic expression

■ The New Changes of "Poetry and Prose Criticism" in the Bibliography of the Republic of China and the Path of "History of Chinese Literary Criticism" （PP. 73–85）Zhang Yuxiao

Abstract: "Poetry and Prose Criticism”" is a term in cataloging that represents a type of knowledge in ancient China. The history of Chinese literary criticism represents a form of writing in the Republican period. "Poetry and Prose Criticism" is the predecessor of the "History of Chinese Literary Criticism", but its knowledge system has undergone a continuous process of generation from numerous sub-items in the Siku Quanshu Zongmu(《四库全书总目》)to modern academic works, which can be seen from the bibliography. Under the joint influence of European culture and local cultural resources, the knowledge map of "Poetry and Prose Criticism" during the Republican period continued to expand, with the addition of prefaces, literary history, and other content. Its conceptual sub-items were further refined, and its geographical scope extended to overseas literary criticism monographs. The path from "Poetry and Prose Criticism" to "History of Criticism" reflects the evolution and fission of China's inherent academic knowledge, that is, selecting suitable theoretical resources from traditional Chinese culture and continuously absorbing and accommodating foreign elements, achieving the harmonious coexistence of Chinese and Western civilizations, and providing a vivid template for the construction of China's independent knowledge system of cultural and artistic critical discourse at present.

Keywords: Poetry and Prose Criticism, History of Chinese Literary Criticism, Siku Quanshu Zongmu(《四库全书总目》), bibliography

Youth criticism

■ The Aesthetic Homogenization and the Restoration of Authenticity in Musical Performance in the Digital-Intelligent Era （PP. 86–98）Qin Yue

Abstract: Digital-intelligent technologies are reshaping the forms and aesthetic logic of musical performance. This article investigates the crisis of aesthetic homogenization in technology-empowered music performance. It analyzes the multifaceted causes—rooted in technological logic, capital-driven forces, audience psychology, and the absence of artistic agency—across diverse performance genres and key processes (creation, presentation, and dissemination). The study further explores the contemporary conceptualization of "authenticity" and potential pathways for its restoration. The study highlights that technological alienation leads to homogenized content, flattened affect, and monolithic value. As the foundation of artistic differentiation, authenticity hinges on preserving performers' subjectivity, true emotions, and artistic originality. The restoration of authenticity requires balancing instrumental rationality with artistic value rationality, reinforcing humanistic primacy, constructing technological ethics, and fostering a sound aesthetic ecosystem. Technology is not the antithesis of authenticity; rather, it should be steered by humanistic values to function as a medium for expanding artistic depth.

Keywords: digital-intelligence era, musical performance, aesthetic homogenization, authenticity, commentary on cultural phenomena

Preface, Postscript and Book Review

■ Ethnic Character, National Character and People's Character: On the Three-Dimensional Expansion in Chen Wangheng's A Complete History of Chinese Aesthetics（PP. 99–108）Wu Zhixiang

Abstract: Chen Wangheng's ten-volume A Complete History of Chinese Aesthetics consciously extends the scope of aesthetics history to the history of aesthetic consciousness, and profoundly grasps the ethnic character, national character, and people's character of Chinese aesthetics in its research and narration. Drawing upon the historical narratives and theoretical insights presented in A Complete History of Chinese Aesthetics, this essay elaborates on the significance of these three dimensions for Chinese aesthetics: the emphasis on ethnic character highlights the organic development of Chinese aesthetics through historical integration; the prominence of national character underscores the cultural integrity of Chinese aesthetics, where beauty and goodness are unified; and the advocacy for people's character endows Chinese aesthetics with a unique, enduring vitality that resonates deeply with the people. By incorporating key concepts such as "rivers and mountains," "all under heaven," and "sense of home" into the framework of Chinese aesthetics, this historical work also corresponds to the ethnic, national, and people's character inherent in Chinese aesthetics.

Keywords: ethnic character, national character, people's character, A Complete History of Chinese Aesthetics, book review

Interview with Renowned Experts

■ Exploring the Path of Chinese Realist Sculpture through the Integration of Chinese and Western Traditions: An Interview with Sculptor Sheng Yang （PP. 109–121）Interviewed by Yang Ru

Inside Front Cover 

Chinese Literary and Art Critics: Hu Zhifeng

Inside Back Cover 

Recommendation of Literary and Art Critics Associations in Sub-Provincial Cities: Shenyang Literary and Art Critics Association

Back Cover 

Poster for the Thematic Symposium on "The Contemporary Context and Knowledge Construction of New Forms of Literature and Art for the General Public"