Critical Review
Abstract
Literature provides a unique way in which individuals can use to relate with their culture. With the combinations of metaphors and symbols, meanings of events in the natural environment are explained beyond what could be conveyed in the absence of literature. The complexities in the lives of human beings create the need for people to use a unique approach that utilises the combinations of poems and artistic works such as paintings and music that in turn create richness of words and images. This implies that literature offers the best ways to explain the moral and spiritual cultivations in the society, and the factors that lead to cultural diversity across the globe.
Introduction
Poetry provides a better way via which artists express their representation of the society. Various artistic works are used to generate insights into how poetry can be used to discuss ways through which the various factors affecting the society can be depicted. The artists do so by bringing closer the minds of people who identify the need for a visually appealing artistic works. Li Bai and Chien Hsuan have made significant efforts in using poetry to explain various incidences that bring the Chinese culture to the fore.
Through their poetry, the two poets make it easier for people to understand the various historical facts that could otherwise be hard to understand in case there were no visual impressions of the cases.
Summary of the work of the two authors
Chien focuses on the use of flower paintings since flowers offer the greatest sense of smell, sight and touch which in turn offers a unique experience of the Chinese culture. The attractive nature of flower paintings are enough to attract the curiosity of viewers and readers that in turn makes them understand the cultural aspects of the Chinese people and historical events that shaped the Chinese cultures. The interaction between the flower paintings and poetry create a scenario where richness and the complexity related to the cultural art can be explained with much ease. Chien relies on poetry as a source for enrichment for the pictorial art such that through reliance on a single flower removed from its neutral setting, viewers have the opportunity to contemplate the meaning of the given image and question the reason by the author for choosing their flower. Li Bai on the other hand relies on poetry to explain the moral and spiritual cultivation in the Chinese culture. Through relying on the role of poems as an artistic work, Li explains the courage of the moral and political convictions and the ability of people to face adversity with dignity and the honest attempt to understand and accept the events in the changing world and how the society is affected by the changes on historical events.
Similarities
Both poets use their mastery to explain the events within the Chinese culture. Through their artistic works, the two authors are able to create a visual impression of the cultural aspects and the ways in which simple things could be used to make people understand the historical events that took place in earlier years. Their originality and sensitivity to culture makes their works similar since they clearly prove to have clear knowledge of the Chinese culture and what people need to learn from the events. Their motivations to rely on poems could be attributed by the fact that their message is passed to the audience in a way that makes them visualise the events and develop an imaginative approach to relating artistic works with the culture of China. The two authors are focused on explaining human qualities such as honesty and dignity such that it is possible to establish factors that make people to behave in particular way. While Chien addresses dignity as a human quality, Li used his poetry and visual arts to point out the moral and spiritual cultivations within the Chinese culture. Both authors identify the fact that there is need for people to understand the changes in the natural environment and hence develop a critical knowledge of their culture.
Differences
The works of the authors address different issues in the society. While Chien focuses on the need to make individuals aware of cultural meanings from pictorial representations supported by poems, Li focused on the need to address the political power and effects on the common people. Li was a champion for the rights of people such that he used his mastery in poetic works to explain the disparities between the rich and the poor.
Through his works, Li pointed out the fact that luxury goods limited well-being of the common masses since the consumption of such goods was only limited to the politically and culturally powerful individuals in the community. This implies that Li was focused on putting across political messages in efforts to create a change by making people develop insights on how politics changed their natural environment. Li’s works were based on the need for proper sharing of power such that in the end, even the disadvantaged could be able to have equal access to resources. Since Li was an advocate for the rights of the less privileged through his brave poetry works, his message appealed even to the illiterate masses in the society. On the other hand, Chien’s works focused on explaining the events that took place in the society such that people would relate the scenarios to the real events within their settings. Chien’s work made it possible for people to develop a sense of touch and understand the expressed meaning in the poetry and paintings beyond what could be portrayed through pictures. This implies that Chien was only keen on proving that situations could be better understood though painting and poetic work to complement the painting. The main idea of the poems and painting was to develop a descriptive approach on how to understand human feelings and how the feelings affected others in the community the other difference between the works of the two authors is the fact that while Li relied on a combination of music and poem, Chien utilised paintings and poems to explain the events affecting human beings in the society.
Methodology used by the authors
The two authors use different combinations of poetry and other artistic works to explain the changes that take place in the natural settings. While Li relied on a combination of poetry with musical intonations, Chien relied on paintings and poems to create a descriptive aspect of the events affecting human life. The approaches used by the two authors could be understood by both the literate and illiterate in the society since they generate a clear visual and mental picture of the situations. With the approaches used, Li was able to bravely point out the differences that existed between those with economic and political power and those that were deprived of the economic and social privileges. The methods therefore encourage people to attempt to comprehend and accept the constantly changing natural world. The methods are focused on explaining the moral and spiritual cultivation in the society and the ways in which human beings could restore their dignity and protect the interests of others in the community. Chien used that paintings to stimulate human feelings and explain the moral strength of a virtuous man and the need for everyone to have attitudes and beliefs that were accommodative of the cultural difference among the Chinese people.
How the work of the artist help understand Chinese Culture
The combination of poetry with artistic works such as paintings and music are in agreement with the Chinese culture. For many years, the Chinese people have been linked with their love for paintings, poems and music which shapes their culture. This implies that the Chinese people use art to realest with their environment and understand the changes that take place in the natural settings. Art shapes the moral and spiritual beliefs of the Chinese nationals as depicted in the works of Li and Chien such that in the end, people are able to understand how human beliefs, behaviour and attitudes affect the relationships among people. Through reliance on visually appealing objects such as the birds and flowers, it is possible to attract the interests of people since the objects such as flowers appeal to Chinese people due to the sight, smell and touch. The Chinese culture utilizes poems, paintings and music since the three have unlimited symbolic and metaphoric potential that is a characteristic of the Chinese culture. The chines culture realises the fact that poetry is a source for enrichment from pictorial art such that it is possible to explain the historical events that affected the well-being of individuals.
Personal view on the arguments of the poets
While music and paintings combine well with poems, it is important to compare the application of poetry in discussing cross cultural events. This implies that poetry could be used to show similarities and differences between the Chinese and other global cultures that are unique. To strengthen the argument on reliance on poetry and combing in it with paintings and music, it is also important to consider the limitations that could exist in the event where complexities in the paintings hinder the ability of people to understand the message passed across. This implies that there is need to consider making interpretation of the artistic works easier so that event he illiterate masses are able to interpret and understand the events that are explained in the poems.
Conclusion
Poetry offers a better ways to explain the changes in the natural environment since every poetry work touches on a specific event. However, there is need to support the contents of poems by utilizing additional art works such as paintings and musical tones that in turn make the poems appealing to people. The combinations offers a unique enrichment such that it is possible to link with a given object or event to the issue addressed in the poem. Poems offer the best way to understand the cultural aspects in the society thereby enabling people to have a clear knowledge of the cultural diversity and the characteristics of different cultures. Originality and sensitivity is key to understanding the factors that affect human beliefs and quality such as dignity such that through interaction between poetry and culture, people are able to understand the complexities that may affect the functional aspects of the society.
The moral strength and spirituality of people need to be conveyed through pictorial representations and other approaches that stimulate the ides and feelings of people and enable them to understand how historical events have impacted in the society. Poetry offers a good way to show the inequality in the society and address the situation with no fear such that the disparity between the rich and the poor could be reduced in the long run.
Works Cited
Harrist, Robert. "Ch'ien Hsüan's "Pear Blossoms": The Tradition of Flower Painting and Poetry from Sung to Yüan ." Metropolitan Museum Journal (1987): 53-70. Document.
Liscomb, Kathlyn. "Li Bai, A Hero Among Poets in ther Visual, Dramatic and Literary Arts of China." The Art Bulletin 81 September 1999: 355-386. Document.
