英语畅谈中国文化50主题 01

1， The Art of Calligraphy¹

A: Some critics suggest that different genres³ of Chinese calligraphy have different political implications. Take Wang Xizhi for example. His calligraphy was repudiated⁴ as unorthodox during his lifetime but, only a few decades after his death, was established as an orthodox genre².

B: That’s for sure! Historically, Chinese calligraphy and politics were closely intertwined. Over 2,000 years ago, Emperor Qin Shihuang, the first Emperor in Chinese history, established the official Chinese writing characters. The new, simplified characters made writing calligraphy less complicated. It allowed people to use characters with more straight strokes, thus making it easier to write with brushes. This created the Li genre. Over time, other variations were also developed, which eventuallly lead to the formation of the five genres in Chinese calligraphy. These were the Zhuan, Li, Kai, Xing and Cao genres.

A: I’ve heard that most emperors were good at calligraphy. The Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Shimin was an avid⁵ collector of Wang Xizhi’s writings.

B: That’s right. Qing Dynasty Emperor Qian Long played a key role in compiling an authoritative⁶ collection of calligraphy. To some extent, preferences of the Emperors had an influence on the rise and fall of certain calligraphy genres.

A: Ordinary Chinese people also seemed to like calligraohy a lot.

B: Part of the reason was the sponsorship by the Emperors. Another reason was the Imperial Civil Service examinations that started in the 7th century. Those examinations were focused on writing and provided a way for ordinary people to achieve a better life. As a result, calligraphy became widely accepted. Calligraphy also had its practical values because it was a good way to make friends and was more presentable as a gift rather than jewelry⁷ or money.

A: Does calligraphy still have these practical functions now?

B: Yes. Many people practice calligraphy as a way to raise their cultural accomplishment⁸. Older people use calligraphic writing as a method to keep fit. They believe that when a person concentrates on writing calligraphy, his inner wellbeing is stimulated⁹.

A: I had thought computers would lead to the disappearance¹⁰ of Chinese calligraphy. Now I understand that’s not likely to happen. How can you give your boss computer-printed calligraphy as a gift?

B: You don’t, unless you want him to fire you.

1 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

2 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

3 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

4 repudiated   

v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务）

参考例句：

• All slanders and libels should be repudiated. 一切诬蔑不实之词，应予推倒。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Prime Minister has repudiated racist remarks made by a member of the Conservative Party. 首相已经驳斥了一个保守党成员的种族主义言论。 来自辞典例句

5 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

6 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

7 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

8 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

9 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

10 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。