For years, artist Ren Jianguo     1     focuses on Chinese ink wash paintings has been exploring how the modern spirit of ink wash paintings can     2    (combine) with traditional Chinese aesthetics (美学).

The artist puts his deep     3    (understand) of Chinese culture and abstract (抽象的) expressionist painting language together     4    (produce) art with a unique modern sense.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Ren     5    (devote) to developing a new “figure landscape” painting style,     6     innovative combination of traditional Chinese figure and landscape paintings.

Ren’s works inherit (继承) the     7    (peace) sense of traditional Chinese ink wash paintings. Many of his works were inspired by the lifestyle that the poet Tao Yuanming described in his poetry.

Born in Beijing and late     8    (travel) to Australia, Ren made a name for himself as early as 1985, when he brought     9    (he) work to the milestone national art exhibition of Chinese contemporary art China Youth in Progress. The exhibition paved the way (为……铺平道路) for the 85 New Art Movement, which has been seen by many     10     an introduction to Chinese contemporary art.

The Mona Lisa’s smile is the best example of a lifetime     1     (spend) studying art, science, optics, and every other possible field that he could apply his curiosity     2    , including understanding the universe and how we fit into it.

Leonardo spent many pages in his notebook dissecting (解剖)     3     human face to figure out every muscle and nerve that touched the lips. On one of those pages you see a faint sketch at the top of the     4     (begin) of the smile of the Mona Lisa. Leonardo kept that painting from 1503, when he started it, to his deathbed in 1519,     5     (try) to get every aspect exactly right in layer after layer. During that period, he dissected the human eye on dead bodies and was able to understand that the center of the retina (视网膜)     6     (see) detail, but the edges see shadows and shapes better. If you look     7     (direct) at the Mona Lisa’s smile, the corners of the lips turn downward slightly,     8     shadows and light make it seem like it’s turning upwards. As you move your eyes across her face, the smile flickers on and off.

Being curiosity about everything just for     9     (curiosity) sake, not simply because it’s useful, is the     10     (decision) trait of Leonardo.

The Yuan Dynasty witnessed the maturity of Chinese landscape painting. The techniques of ink and wash     1     (employ) in this period, which brought Chinese landscape painting     2     the peak of prosperity and splendor. The ink-and-wash landscape painters developed the idea     3     a stretch of landscape represents a stretch of one’s spiritual world.

Ni Yunlin, Wu Zhen, Huang Gongwang and Wang Meng were known as the “Four Masters of the Yuan”,     4     enjoyed the free clouds and green mountains of nature. Of them all Ni Yunlin is considered to be     5     typical.

In Ni’s The Rongxi Studio, colours are completely abandoned and “the level and distant” method is applied to the     6     (compose) of the painting, so as to achieve the effect of peace and detachment (超脱). The world     7    (create) here is the world in the artist’s mind: cold mountains and insignificant waters reveal the     8    (painter) desire to leave the earthly world. Withered (枯萎的) trees convey the artist’s pursuit of freedom, though it sometimes means     9     (pain) loneliness. The small pavilion under the trees is “Rongxi Studio,” the name meaning a studio big enough only     10     (hold) a knee-a reflection of a human being’s inferior position in the universe.

Chinese writers shine at prestigious sci-fi awards

Chinese sci-fi writers and artists had a     1    (reward) night at this year’s Hugo Awards. Hai Ya took away the Best Novelette award for “The Space-Time Painter”. “I’m     2    (pleasant) surprised and very lucky, it’s like my dream come true,” said Hai Ya.

Hai created the story    3    (inspire) by a painting masterpiece, Qianli Jiangshan Tu (A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains) by Wang Ximeng from the Song Dynasty (960-1279),     4    painted the work at the age of 18.

The Hugo Awards, first presented in 1953 and presented annually since 1955, are science fiction’s prestigious awards. The awards     5    (vote) on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention, which is also responsible for     6    (administer) them.

Chinese artist Zhao Enzhe won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist,     7    (honour) as “the Liu Cixin in the illustration field” and best domestic artist     8    terms of interstellar sci-fi content. “Of course, I’m very happy to have such an opportunity and a platform to show myself, but I think it is the step-by-step promotion of the predecessors of Chinese science fiction     9     gives me such an opportunity. In the future, I will work harder to promote the progress of science fiction art in China,” Zhao said in     10     interview after the ceremony.

Charlie Chaplin, the master of comedy, was an iconic figure in the history of film. His unique brand of physical comedy and     1     (forgettable) characters have entertained audiences for decades. Born in London, Chaplin     2     (begin) his career in silent films at Mack Sennett’s   Keystone Studios,    3     his slapstick (打闹剧) humor and brilliant pantomime (哑剧) earned    4     (he) a loyal following.

His work continued to gain     5     (popular) throughout the 1920s and 1930s as he wrote, directed, and starred in some of     6     most iconic films of the era. Chaplin’s films often tackle social issues and criticize authority figures,     7     (win) him both critical praise and controversy.

Chaplin’s unique style of comedy has a constant influence on today’s comedians,     8     his legacy can be seen in everything from modern-day film     9     stand-up comedy. His ability to use humor to explore the human condition and comment on society will ensure that Chaplin’s legacy will live on for generations     10     (come).

Wearing a traditional Chinese qipao, conductor Nucrbana Yiming’s     1     (perform) has received thunderous applause from the audience at the Chinese Lunar New Year concert in Urumqi. A 35-year-old performer from Xinjiang, often known as Bana, is the only female conductor at the Xinjiang Art Theater so far. Her passion     2     music came from her family: her father was a clarinetist (单簧管手).     3     (influence) by her father, she started her violin and piano training at the age of eight.

In 2004, she     4     (admit) into the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan to study as a conductor. “Every day I     5     (carry) thousands of pages of music sheets from my dorm to the classroom. I needed to memorize them     6     a really short time,” she recalled. “Sometimes I questioned myself and wondered     7     it was better for me to be a street vendor (街头小贩).”     8     (fortunate), all her efforts paid     9     in the end.

Before her graduation in 2009, she received an offer from the Xinjiang Art Theater. Bana has a deep understanding of her role in the theater: she considers herself as a bridge     10     connects professions, Xinjiang folk music, modern instruments and the world. “My job is to integrate the music knowledge and the concepts I’ve learned abroad into each show of our folk orchestra,” she said.

Zhang Xuehua is     1     artist of paper cutting, who works attentively in her workshop in Ma’anshan city, east China’s Anhui Province. As she turns the paper, her scissors fly and a paper-cut work is “born”.

    2     (normal), paper cutting craftsmen first draw patterns on paper and then cut them into outlines, but Zhang has a special     3    (capable) to cut without sketching (画素描) patterns ahead of time. She can turn a piece of paper the size of a handkerchief     4     a lifelike paper cutting work in less than one minute. Her works show a mixture of paper cutting styles in northern and southern China.

Zhang     5    (learn) the craft from her grandmother. “In the beginning, I was not able to cut well, but in time I could create little frogs, butterflies, flowers and other works,” Zhang said. “Paper cutting created countless beautiful childhood     6    (memory) for me. ”

The walls of Zhang’s studio are covered with work, large and small, with subjects     7    (range) from the twelve zodiac signs to daily items. The work Zhang remains proudest of is the Folk Girl series,     8     now sits in the National Art Museum of China’s permanent collection.     9    (carry) forward the traditional craft of paper cutting, Zhang often offers paper cutting classes for free at residential communities, schools and museums, well     10    (recognize) by young people who want to understand the living heritage.

During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 — 476 BC), there was a musician,     1     lived alone in a forest where he played the guqin, and his name was Yu Boya. One day, a passing woodcutter     2    (name) Zhong Ziqi was intrigued (陶醉于) by the sounds of the musical instrument, and Mr. Zhong Ziqi     3    (he) listened with full attention. Yu     4    (sincere) played the guqin, causing various pictures in Zhong’s imagination, such as flowing clouds and plunging waterfalls. Such was the     5    (connect) between performing and listening. They became bosom friends (挚友). After many years, when the woodcutter died, Yu decided     6    (smash) his instrument and never to play again since he was sure that he would never again have someone like Zhong to so intuitively understand his music.

Indeed, the guqin — the favored instrument of Confucius — was     7     essential musical instrument of ancient China’s educated elite (精英). It     8    (add) to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2008.

In April, when President Xi Jinping     9    (meet) with French President Emmanuel Macron, a classic guqin piece, High Mountain and Flowing Water, was played to celebrate the friendship and mutual understanding     10     the two countries.

As one of the top contemporary Chinese painters     1     (major) in landscapes, Fan Yang, over the past decades, has used the traditional forms of Chinese painting to record major historical events in the country with his brush.

Fan Yang     2     (grow) up in Nantong, a city abundant in cultural riches dating back to ancient times. He came from a famous literary family,     3     influence grounded in him a solid foundation and love of traditional culture and painting.

After graduating from high school, Fan chose to work at the Nantong Arts and Crafts Research Institute. He applied     4     (he) to learning about folk art, which played a significant role in his future development.

In 1978, Fan Yang     5     (admit) to the Art Department of Nanjing Normal University,     6     school with a 120-year history. Over the past century, it has cultivated many Chinese artists such as outstanding Chinese artist known     7     horse paintings, Xu Beihong, revolutionizing Chinese ink painting master, Fu Baoshi , pioneer of 20th-century Chinese oil painting Lyu Sibai and China’s famous painter, fine art historian and     8     (educate) Qin Xuanfu (1906-1998).

During his four years of college life, Fan absorbed the skills and knowledge of his predecessors (先辈)     9     going on to form his own painting style.

After many years of     10     (create) experimentation, Fan gained a strong reputation among contemporary Chinese painting circles.

During the Renaissance, a period     1     covers from the 14th to the 17th century, Europe experienced a revival of art, culture, and intellect. Leonardo da Vinci, often referred to as the archetype of the “Renaissance Man”, was not only an artist but also     2     inventor, scientist, and mathematician. His painting, the Mona Lisa, is considered one of     3    (famous) iconic works of art. Yet, many of his     4    (invention), although revolutionary, were not built during his lifetime.