Gu Kaizhi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Gu Kaizhi - Research Paper Example essay will seek to analyze the life and artwork of Gu Kaizhi so as to present to the reader a more complete biographical and technical understanding of the man and his artwork as well as to impress upon the reader the total contributions and levels of expertise that this artist exhibited. Born in 344 AD, Gu Kaizhi’s brief 62 years of life saw the development and growth of one of the most talented and prolific Chinese artists that had lived up until that point in time. Gu was born into a rather noble family and was subsequently schooled in a variety of art forms to include military training, literature, poetry, calligraphy, and music. Such a privileged life helped him to experience an exceptionally well rounded education that many other artists did not have the pleasure of. Although skilled in many artforms and able to express himself within the art of poetry at a very young age, Gu turned to the medium of artwork in the form of paintings by the age of 20 (364 AD). It was at this point that Gu began a long and storied career that would see him be named the father of Chinese artwork. Though such a title is of course a bit of stretch as talented artists existed long before him, the fact of the matter is that he had a profound and lasting effect on the way that ar twork was defined and practiced within China. Additionally, his incorporation of traditional Chinese virtues, stories, characters, and motifs helped to endear him to subsequent generations of artists that began to see his work not only as indicative of high art but exemplification of traditional Chinese art as a function of culture. Due to the historical record at that time, it is nearly impossible to verify some of the stories that exist regarding Gu as he began to embark upon his career as an artist. However, regardless of the voracity of some of these anecdotes, they have nonetheless continued to exist and provide the reader with useful insights into both the merits of Gu’s artwork as well as

The history of ancient India. Harppan Culture Research Paper

The history of ancient India. Harppan Culture - Research Paper Example But excavations at Harappa and Mohanjo-Daro changed the complete viewpoint and old beliefs. Starting with the finding of Harappa, almost thousand conclusions with comparable characters have been exposed. Scholars named it ‘Indus valley civilization’ (Around the Indus in 90 Slides par. 1). Indus valley civilization developed at two centers-Harappa and Mohanjodaro. Harappa is in Montgomery district of the Punjab (now in Pakistan). Mohanjodaro is in Larkana district of Sind (now in Pakistan). Mohanjodaro means ‘the mount of the dead’. The distance between these two centers is 650 Kms. According to the famous archeologist Sir John Marshall, Harappan civilization is about 5000 years old. The town planning and material life of the Harappan culture were really great. Archeologist like â€Å"Mortimer Wheeler and Stuart Piggot believed that the Harappan towns had a remarkable unity of conception† (Unit 6: Material Characteristics 21). Each town was divided int o two parts. In one part, the citadel indicated where the rulers lived. In the other part of the town, the ruled, and the poor lived. â€Å"The most ancient paw marks of human actions in India go back to the Paleolithic Age, around between 400,000 and 200,000 B.C.