Aesthetic movement is a loosely organized movement that appeared in the field of British art and literature in the late19th century. Advocating "art for art's sake", emphasizing transcending the pure beauty of life and pursuing formal perfection and artistic skills, his rise is a resistance to social utilitarian philosophy, philistinism and vulgar style. It is generally believed that aestheticism is in the same strain as the symbolism or decadence movement in France at that time, and it is a branch of the international literary movement in Britain. This movement is part of the anti-Victorian trend and has the characteristics of post-romanticism. It happened in the late Victorian era and lasted from 1868 to 190 1 year. Generally speaking, the academic circles believe that the end of the aestheticism movement is marked by the arrest of Oscar Wilde.

The so-called "aestheticism" means taking the formal beauty of art as an artistic proposition of absolute beauty. The "beauty" mentioned here refers to the beauty of skills divorced from reality. Therefore, aestheticism is sometimes called "aestheticism" or "beauty first". /kloc-the formation of the British aestheticism movement at the end of 0/9th century has two major factors: one is Bede's hedonism criticism (1839-1894); Second, Morris's artistic life thought (1834- 1896). Bede believes that the responsibility of literary critics is not to master knowledge and list materials to meet the correct definition of beauty, but to have a special temperament and the ability to feel the object of beauty, to closely connect themselves with the contents of books, and to explore pleasure and fun from them, which is the basis of aesthetic criticism. Morris believes that the purpose of transforming society is to stretch freely and make daily life artistic. If no civilized society can provide such an environment for its members, then there is no need for this world to exist. The above viewpoints of Bede and Morris laid the theoretical foundation of aestheticism. Coupled with the efforts of Rossetti (1828- 1882) and Swinburne (1837- 1909), the aestheticism movement was finally formed.

British decadent writers are deeply influenced by Walter Horatio Pater. Pater published a series of articles from 1867 to 1868, advocating that people should embrace life enthusiastically and pursue the artistry of life. Decadence accepted this view. French philosophers Victor Cushing and Ophir Gautier popularized this concept in France and put forward the slogan "Art for Art's sake", claiming that there is no connection between art and morality.

Writers and artists of the aestheticism movement believe that the mission of art is to provide sensory pleasure for human beings, not to convey some moral or emotional information. Therefore, aesthetes refused to accept the utilitarian view that "art is a practical thing bearing morality" put forward by john ruskin and matthew arnold. On the contrary, aestheticians believe that art should not have any didactic factors, but should pursue pure aesthetic feeling. They are obsessed with the pursuit of "beauty" in art, think that "beauty" is the essence of art, and advocate that life should imitate art. The main characteristics of aestheticism movement include: pursuing hints rather than statements, pursuing sensory enjoyment, widely using symbolism, and pursuing the relationship between things, that is, exploring the internal relationship between vocabulary, color and music.

Aestheticism was pioneered by romantic poets john keats and Shelley, and also influenced by pre-Raphael school. In Britain, the most outstanding representatives of aestheticism are Oscar Wilde and algernon Charles Swinburne, both of whom are influenced by French symbolism. Artists related to the aestheticism movement include James McNeil Whistler and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Aestheticism also had an impact on interior design. Aesthetic interior designers like to decorate with peacock feathers and blue and white porcelain. The aestheticism movement was ridiculed by the magazine Clumsy and Gilbert and Sullivan's opera Patience.