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1、Chinese Dragon CultureDragon cultures exit in both the Eastern and Western world. Dragons are deeply rooted in Chinese culture, so Chinese often consider themselves, the descendants of the dragon. In the Western, dragons can be found in many literatures and they look significantly different from the
2、 Chinese dragon. We will focus on the Chinese dragon here. Nobody really knows where the dragon comes from. The dragon looks like a combination of many animals, such as a reptile, a snake, an alligator, and a lizard. Or it may be just a product from the imagination of Chinese people. Chinese emperor
3、s think they are the real dragons and the sons of the heaven. Thus the beds they sleep on are called the dragon beds, the throne called the dragon seat, and the emperors ceremonial dresses called the dragon robes. Also dragons can be seen on the buildings in the imperial palace. Dragon screens are a
4、n important part of this dragon culture. The dragon is a symbol of imperial power. Traditionally the dragons are considered as the governors of rain falls in Chinese culture. They have the power to decide where and when to have rain falls. The kings of the water dragons live in the dragon palaces un
5、der the oceans. The dragon also plays an important part in Chinese Festivals. The dragon dance has a long history, which was already a popular event during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). The Dragon Boat Festival is almost purely dragon-related festival, which becomes popular international events no
6、w. There are many Chinese stories about the dragon. There is even a very famous Chinese idiom, Lord Yes Love of Dragons, which means professed love of what one really fears. Here is the story behind the idiom. Lord Ye loved dragons deeply. He had dragons everywhere and he was thinking about dragons
7、all the time. His love of dragons moved a real dragon, so the dragon came to visit him one day. When he saw the real dragon, he was frightened to death. Chinese Painting and CalligraphyThough Chinese painting has much in common with western painting from an aesthetic point of view, it still possesse
8、s its unique character. Chinese traditional painting seldom follows the convention of central focus perspective or realistic portrayal, but gives the painter freedom on artistic conception, structural composition and method of expression so as to better express his subjective feelings. Chinese paint
9、ing has absorbed the best of many forms of art, like poetry, calligraphy, and seal engraving. Take Mr. Qi Baishi (1863-1957), a great painter for example. Mr. Qi was a skillful poet, calligrapher and seal-cutter. Qi, a native of Hunan Province, injected his ink painting with typical Chinese farmers
10、tastes - simple, pure, and humorous. All this made him an artistic giant of the 20th Century. Chinese often consider a good painting a good poem, and vice versa. Hence we often say there is painting in poetry and poetry in painting. In the past, many great artists were also great poets and the calli
11、graphers. The inscriptions and seal on the paintings not only can help us to understand the painters ideas and emotions, but also provide decorative beauty to the painting. Pines, bamboo and plum blossoms are bosom friends in winter. The three plants are upright and show rectitude. They become favor
12、ite objects for Chinese painters. Chinese painting is a combination in the same picture of the arts of poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal engraving. They were indispensable elements, which supplement and enrich each other in contributing to the beauty of the whole picture. 推荐精选Chinese paintings
13、can be divided into four categories according to its format: murals, screens, scrolls, and albums and fans. In addition, they are frequently mounted against exquisite backgrounds to enhance their aesthetic effect. In terms of technique, Chinese painting can be divided into two broad categories: pain
14、tings minutely executed in a realistic style and those that employ freehand brushwork. Classified according to subject matter, they can be divided into paintings of figures, landscapes, buildings, flowers, birds, animals, insects and fish. The brush techniques so much emphasized in Chinese painting
15、include line and texture (cunfa), the dotting method (dianfa) and the application of color (ranfa). It is very difficult, if not impossible, to appreciate Chinese paintings without a profound knowledge about different styles characteristic of the different historical periods. During the Tang Dynasty
16、 (618-907 AD), the culture flourished with the economic development. Painting was elegant in style, reflecting the general prosperity of the golden age of Chinese feudal society. The paintings of Song Dynasty (960-1279AD), however, favored abstract, implied meanings rather than direct expressions, painting skills matured considerably, and the realistic style was in full blossom. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD) witnessed the flourish of the express
