中国文学与艺术期末试题

西安外国语大学考试试题编号:

2012-2013学年第 2 学期系（院、部）：英文学院专业：英语

课程：中国文学与艺术班级： 12级专选命题时间： 13年12月命题教师：

苗淼

以上栏目由命题教师填写，下栏由考生填写

学号： 1201010609 姓名：左茜系（院）：英文学院专业：英语班

级: 6 班

Essay questions (25% each)

Directions: answer the following questions accurately and concisely by using the information covered in ‘Chinese Literature and Art’.

I. Questions for Chinese Art

1.What is taotie? During which dynasty or dynasties was it most popular? What

are some hypothesis concerning the meanings or origins of taotie?

(1) Taotie is a mythical ferocious animal in Chinese legend which people said

was the fifth son of dragon. Taotie was always seen on the surface of ancient bronze wares as decoration.

(2) Taotie is a motif commonly found on Chinese ritual bronze vessels from the

Shang and Zhou Dynasty. And in Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty, it was very popular.

(3) Because Taotie’s biggest character is that it can eat lots of things, so it is a

symbol of greed. It is said that this monster had no body, only a big head and a big mouth. For it was too greedy for eating so that it ate its own body!

2.What are some characteristics of Tang dynasty (early and mid-Tang) art?

Name one artist for each time period, and explain how this artist represents the achievement of his time.

(1) The Tang Dynasty was an exceptional period in China's history. The

society was prosperous and stable and had achieved great success in culture, art and writing. Writing poems was a major cultural activity and even the imperial civil examination began to require poem writing instead of essay writing. "A Complete Collection of Tang Poems" includes nearly 50,000 works from more

than 2,300 poets.

(2) 1. Tang period (618-712): The most outstanding poet during this time is

Chen Zi'ang. His poems were vigorous and straightforward. He felt that poems should reflect reality and he helped lay the groundwork for the development of Tang Poems.

2. High Tang (712-762) was the highest level of Tang poetry. The topics and

styles of the poems were rich and varied. Poets wrote freely in a romantic atmosphere, some singing the praises of nature, some yearning for life at a frontier fortress, some sighing with frustration. Some of the most famous poets in High Tang included Li Bai, Du Fu, Meng Haoran, Gao Shi and Cen Sen. Cen Sen had a gift for writing poems about frontier fortresses, while Gao Shi wrote about the miserable life of poor people. The "Fairy Poet" Li Bai and "Sage Poet" Du Fu probably had the most profound influences on writing at that time.Together, they created an imposing scene that had immense influences on later writers.

3. In the Mid Tang lived the famous poets Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen and Li He.

Bai Juyi was an expert at satire. He mocked excessive taxes, objected to war and criticized high-ranking officials. He tried to make his language plain, smooth and lively so that more people could appreciate his poem.

4. The Late Tang period (827-859) saw the well-known poets Li Shangyin

and Du Mu. Du Mu' poems were fresh and cool and expressed his sadness and frustration in his official career. There is still debate today over his famous poem "Untitled". Critics argue over weather the poem is a love song or a political statement.

II. Questions for Chinese Literature

3.What kind of book is the Classic of Songs (Shi Jing)? How is it further divided,

and why is it important to the Chinese literary tradition?

(1) The Classic of Songs is the most ancient existing anthology of Chinese

poetry. The Classic of Songs comprises 305 poems and songs dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. The Classic of Songs is one of the "Five Classics"

traditionally said to have been compiled by Confucius, and has been studied and memorized by scholars in China and neighboring countries over two millennia, and subsequently more globally, with many translations into numerous languages.

Since the Qing dynasty, its rhyme patterns have also been analyzed in the study of Old Chinese phonology.