Abstract: For too long,the theme of adventure in Simmel's writings has not received enough attention.Simmel defines adventure primarily from the formal level,emphasising the basic characteristics of adventure that dramatically leaps out of life and eventually returns to life.From this definition of adventure,Simmel's cultural philosophy and philosophy of life have a distinct sense of adventure.Simmel's so-called culture is actually an adventure of spiritual life.Spiritual life produces its own form of objects that is self-contained,leaping out of the flow of life.However,the development of the objects may promote the perfection of spiritual life and the reintegration between the objects and spiritual life.Starting from itself and returning to itself,the spiritual life thus realizes its cultural path.The aggravation of cultural tragedy in modern society may cause the objective forms that have detached from the flow of spiritual life to exist completely independently of spiritual life and unable to return to the stream of life,thus interrupting the adventure of spiritual life.Simmel solved this dilemma by turning to the concept of absolute life in his late time.The essence of absolute life is self-transcendence.The contradiction between relative life and form is precisely the way absolute life exists,constantly generating contradictions and constantly breaking the existing boundaries to return to the unity of life,so that life is renewed to a more abundant state.In this way,the adventure of life will no longer be blocked.The essence and existential mode of absolute life of self-transcendence is in fact a continuous adventure.Simmel's approach to research and lifestyle is equally adventurous.This adventurous core in Simmel's thought and his life picture makes him the first theorist of modernity in the Baudelaire's sense and the enlightener with the attitude of modernity in the Foucault's sense.

Key words: adventure, culture, absolute life, self-transcendence