英语畅谈中国文化50主题

f87Ó¢Óﳩ̸ÖйúÎÄ»¯50Ö÷Ìâ1.TheArtofCalligraphyÆæÃîµÄÊé·¨A:SomecriticssuggestthatdifferentgenresofChinesecalligraphyhavedifferentpoliticalimplications.TakeWangXizhiforexample.Hiscalligraphywasrepudiatedasunorthodoxduringhislifetimebut,onlyafewdecadesafterhisdeath,wasestablishedasanorthodoxgenre.B:That¡¯sforsure!Historically,Chinesecalligraphyandpoliticswerecloselyintertwined.Over2,000yearsago,EmperorQinShihuang,thefirstEmperorinChinesehistory,establishedtheofficialChinesewritingcharacters.Thenew,simplifiedcharactersmadewritingcalligraphylesscomplicated.Itallowedpeopletousecharacterswithmorestraightstrokes,thusmakingiteasiertowritewithbrushes.ThiscreatedtheLigenre.Overtime,othervariationswerealsodeveloped,whicheventualllyleadtotheformationofthefivegenresinChinesecalligraphy.TheseweretheZhuan,Li,Kai,XingandCaogenres.A:I¡¯veheardthatmostemperorsweregoodatcalligraphy.TheTangDynastyEmperorLiShiminwasanavidcollectorofWangXizhi¡¯swritings.B:That¡¯sright.QingDynastyEmperorQianLongplayedakeyroleincompilinganauthoritativecollectionofcalligraphy.Tosomeextent,preferencesoftheEmperorshadaninfluenceontheriseandfallofcertaincalligraphygenres.A:OrdinaryChinesepeoplealsoseemedtolikecalligraohyalot.B:PartofthereasonwasthesponsorshipbytheEmperors.AnotherreasonwastheImperialCivilServiceexaminationsthatstartedinthe7thcentury.Thoseexaminationswerefocusedonwritingandprovidedawayforordinarypeopletoachieveabetterlife.Asaresult,calligraphybecamewidelyaccepted.Calligraphyalsohaditspracticalvaluesbecauseitwasagoodwaytomakefriendsandwasmorepresentableasagiftratherthanjewelryormoney.A:Doescalligraphystillhavethesepracticalfunctionsnow?B:Yes.Manypeoplepracticecalligraphyasawaytoraisetheirculturalaccomplishment.Olderpeopleusecalligraphicwritingasamethodtokeepfit.Theybelievethatwhenapersonconcentratesonwritingcalligraphy,hisinnerwellbeingisstimulated.A:IhadthoughtcomputerswouldleadtothedisappearanceofChinesecalligraphy.NowIunderstandthat¡¯snotlikelytohappen.Howcanyougiveyourbosscomputer-printedcalligraphyasagift?B:Youdon¡¯t,unlessyouwanthimtofireyou.2.TheSignificanceofChinesePaintingsÖйú»­µÄº¬ÒâA:It`sinterestingthatChinesepaintingscanbecreatedonthespot,eventhoughmostofthemhavesimilarsubjects.Peony,plumblossoms,mountains,creeksorcottagesareverypopular.Thereareoftenpaintersatsignificantcelebratoryandcommemorativeevents.B:Theireducationalfunctionis,infact,auniquefeatureofChinesepainting.Humanprofileswereusedasamethodtoeitherglorifyheroesorcondemntraitors2,000yearsago.TangDynastyofficialseventriedtobringpaintingintoConfuctionideology.TheCourtoftheSongDynastypublishedanofficialguidetopaintings.Thisraisedcriterianotonlyforhumanprofilesbutalsoforlandscapeandobjectpaintings.A:Oh,whatwasthat?B:Itclassifiedpaintingsintotencategoriescoveringreligiousbeliefs,Confucianismandstatepower.Thisclassficationgaveanofficialdefinitionofthevalueandsignificanceofthepaintings.Thepurposeoflandscapepaintingswastoportraythefivemountains,whilefruitandbirdswereusedtoexemplifyoreulogizetheGods.Inthiscase,thesubjectswereusedasreferencestopeopleinordertodelivermoralmessages.Forexample,peonyandpeacocksrepresentedwealthandfortune;pinetrees,bamboo,plumblossomsandorchidsrepresentedeleganceandaccomplishment;andpinetreesandcypressessymbolizedloyalty.A:AsfarasIknow,painterswhodidnothavetomakealivingbypaintinguseddiffferentskillstothosespecified103fintheguide,eventhoughtheypaintedthesamesubjects.B:Artistsareusuallyagainstpragmatism.Theyliketogivemeaningtothesubjectstheypaint.Bamboosymbolizesintegrityandpinetreessymbolizenevergivingup.Artistsalsolikelandscapes.Itdoesn`ttakealotoftrainingtopaintlandscapes.Italldependsonthepainter`spersonalityandability,aswellashisuniquetouch.Mostoftoday`snon-professionalpaintersfollowthelandscapestyle.Theobjectiveofthesepaintersispurelyentertainmentandself-satisfaction.Themoresuccessfulartistshavetheopportunitytoexhibitatpublicfunctions.Thatisprobablytheclimaxoftheirpaintingcareers.A:Whatareprofessionalpaintersdoing?B:Someofthemmakeagreatefforttoimprovetheirpaintingskills.Theywanttodevelopnewandinnovativepaintingmethodsbyborrowingfromothergenres.Othersarebusymakingmoney.Theyhavefoundwaystoprodurecommerciallyattractivepaintings.Somepeoplesaytheyarenolongerartists.Insteadtheyhavebecomemanufacturersofpaintings.3.RediscoverConfuciusÖØз¢ÏÖ¿××ÓDidyouseethestatueofConfuciuslaunchedbytheChinaConfuciusFund?A:Äã¿´µ½Öйú¿××Ó»ù½ð»á·¢²¼µÄ¿××Ó±ê×¼ÏñÁËÂð£¿B:Yes,Idid.Itdoesn`tquitematchtheConfuciusimageinmymindthough.Iheardtherearemanydifferentopinionsaboutthisso-calledofficialstatue.But,tobefait,it`sanimpossiblejobtocreateanofficialstatueofsomeonewholivedmorethan2,500yearsago.Nooneknowswhathelookedlike,justlikenooneintheWestknowswhatPlatolookedlike.Nevertheless,Confuciuswasagreatphilosopher,aneducator,aplitician,aswellasthefounderofConfucianism,whichstillhasatremendousinfluenceoverpeopletoday.B:¿´µ½ÁË£¬µ«Ëü²»ÍêÈ«ÊÇÎÒÐÄÄ¿ÖеĿ××ÓÐÎÏó¡£¾Ý˵ÓкܶàÈ˶ÔÕâ¸ö±ê×¼Ïñ³Ö²»Í¬Òâ¼û¡£ÕâÒ²Äѹ֣¬Ò²ÒѱϾ¹Éú»îÔÚ£²£µ£°£°¶àÄêÇ°£¬Ã»ÓÐË­Äܹ»ÏëÏñËûÕæʵµÄ³¤Ï࣬¾ÍÏñÄãÃÇÎ÷·½È˲»ÖªµÀ°ØÀ­Í