PART 1 Core Question

What is the art of Chinese painting?

At the outset, Chinese painting is inextricably intertwined with calligraphy. The latter provides the technique and aesthetic principles to the former one. The concept of rhythmic beauty in movement derived from calligraphy and were further developed in the form of painting. The painters put great emphasis on vital lines and abhorred the strict, even lines. Secondly, Chinese painting is a form of impressionism, whose aim is to express the subjective impression of the artist. Furthermore, the Sung painters advanced one step further. They tried not only to demonstrate the impression but also to express the inner spirit of things, which can only be comprehended by the highest human spirits. Hence mere observation and accuracy without intuitive insights will not suffice to bring off a masterpiece.

PART 2 Sentences

1. Only an artist who understands the joys of the salmon in leaping the rapids and realizes how exciting it is to him should try to paint the salmon. Otherwise he should leave the salmon alone, for no matter how accurate the painting is of its scales and fins and eyelids, that painting will be dead.

2. Chinese paintings unconsciously express the oneness of man with nature and the essential unity of the great mystic procession of life in which the human being occupies but a small and transitory part.

PART 3 Expressions

1. Mi Fei, who later became the most outstanding painter of the Sung dynasty, once was so enamored with the massive rhythms o£ the silent rocks that he prostrated himself before a mountain cliff and called it his "father-in-law."

prostrate: [ˈprɒstreɪt] (v.) 1. prostrate oneself 俯卧, 俯倒, especially as an act of religious worship or as a sign of your willingness to obey sb

2. to make sb too shocked, upset, or weak to be able to do anything

They were prostrated by grief.

prostrate: (a.)

They found him lying prostrate on the floor.

Julie was prostrate with grief after her father's death.

prostration: (n.)

2. Li Kunglin painted horses to amuse himself, Huang wrote lugubrious or macabre verse on ghosts, and they told one another tall tales of Taoists and fairies.

tall tale/ tall story: a story that is so unlikely that it is difficult to believe

A tall tale is a traditional American story. The descriptions in the story are exaggerated – much greater than in real life. Long ago, the people who settled in undeveloped areas in America first told tall tales. After a hard day's work, people gathered to tell each other funny stories. 天高任鸟飞，牛皮拣大的吹 ^_^

a tall order: informal, a request or piece of work that is almost impossible

Finding a replacement is going to be a tall order.

3. Upon examination it was found to be the manuscript of his hobo rhapsody, called "The Yellow Mud Flat," written "when drunk" while he was in confinement in Huangchow.

rhapsody: [ˈræpsədi] 1. a piece of music or writing that is written to express emotion, and does not have a regular form 狂想曲；狂想诗

2. formal, an expression of eager and excited approval

The performance was greeted with rhapsodies of praise.

rhapsodize: to talk about sth in an eager, excited and approving way

rhapsodize over/ about sth  同义表达： enthuse about/ over sth

I could hear Sophie rhapsodizing about her new job.

4. Su Tungpo fully expressed this revolt in two lines.

revolt: [rɪˈvəʊlt] (n.) a refusal to accept someone's authority or obey rules or laws SYN rebellion

a revolt against authority, a revolt over the proposed spending cuts

French farmers are in revolt over cheap imports.

revolt: (v.) rebel

Some members of the government may revolt against this proposed legislation.

5. At the outset it must be made clear that in China calligraphy and painting are one and the same art, the same in technique, in medium, and in spirit and principles o£ criticism.

at the outset/ from the outset: at or from the beginning of an event or process

It was clear from the outset that there were going to be problems.

A person with higher qualifications can get a better paid job at the outset of their career.

Bamboo painted by Su Tungpo