LANDSCAPE OF THE SOUL-NATHALIE TROUVEROY

1. ABOUT THE NATHALIE TROUVEROY: Nathalie Trouveroy is an art historian who came in limelight because of her translated work ' City of Djinns', a book by William Dalrymple. She is the wife of Belgian ambassador to India.She plan to write her next book on old Delhi architecture like Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk.

2. CBSE | Class 11 | English | Landscape of the Soul

3. Yin and Yang:The principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, female-male, dark-light and old-young. The principle, dating from the 3rd century BCE or even earlier, is a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy and culture in general. The two opposites of Yin and Yang attract and complement each other and, as their symbol illustrates, each side has at its core an element of the other (represented by the small dots). Neither pole is superior to the other and, as an increase in one brings a corresponding decrease in the other, a correct balance between the two poles must be reached in order to achieve harmony

3.1. Origin

3.2. The concept of Yin and Yang became popular with the work of the Chinese school of Yinyang which studied philosophy and cosmology in the 3rd century BCE. The principal proponent of the theory was the cosmologist Zou Yan (or Tsou Yen) who believed that life went through five phases (wuxing) - fire, water, metal, wood, earth - which continuously interchanged according to the principle of Yin and Yang.

3.3. What is Yin? Yin is: feminine black dark north water (transformation) passive moon (weakness and the goddess Changxi) earth cold old even numbers valleys poor soft and provides spirit to all things. Yin reaches it’s height of influence with the winter solstice. Yin may also be represented by the tiger, the colour orange and a broken line in the trigrams of the I Ching (or Book of Changes).

3.4. What is Yang? Yang is: masculine white light south fire (creativity) active sun (strength and the god Xihe) heaven warm young odd numbers mountains rich hard and provides form to all things. Yang reaches it’s height of influence with the summer solstice. Yang may also be represented by the dragon, the colour blue and a solid line trigram.

3.5. Yin Yang theory - a basic explanation

3.6. The I Ching or Yi Jing (Chinese: 易經; pinyin: Yìjīng, Mandarin pronunciation: [î tɕíŋ] (About this soundlisten)), usually translated as Book of Changes or Classic of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text and among the oldest of the Chinese classics. With more than two and a half millennia's worth of commentary and interpretation, the I Ching is an influential text read throughout the world, providing inspiration to the worlds of religion, philosophy,[1] literature, and art. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period (1000–750 BC), over the course of the Warring States period and early imperial period (500–200 BC) it was transformed into a cosmological text with a series of philosophical commentaries known as the "Ten Wings".[2] After becoming part of the Five Classics in the 2nd century BC, the I Ching was the subject of scholarly commentary and the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East, and eventually took on an influential role in Western understanding of Eastern thought.

4. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Yin_yang_%28Chinese_characters%29.svg/150px-Yin_yang_%28Chinese_characters%29.svg.png

5. Difference between the Chinese art and European art: 1)The Chinese view of art is trying to achieve the essence of inner life and spirit. 2)The European view of art is to create illusionistic likeness.

6. Landscape of the Soul Summary In this chapter, the writer contrasts two forms of art – Chinese art and European art by using two different stories. In China during the eighth century, the Tang emperor Xuanzong commissioned a painter Wu Daozi to decorate a wall in the palace. Upon seeing the wall painting, the Emperor started noticing the outer appearance of the painting but the painter drew his attention to a cave at the foot of the mountain. The painter told the Emperor that he would take him inside. The painter entered the cave and the entrance closed behind him. As soon as the painter clapped his hand, the painting on the wall was gone and so was the painter.

6.1. In another story, a painter wouldn’t draw an eye of a dragon as he feared that the dragon would fly out of the painting. In another story to represent a European art form, a master Blacksmith falls in love with a painter’s daughter. The father didn’t approve of him because of his profession. The blacksmith sneaked into his painting studio and painted a fly on the painter’s latest panel. The fly seemed so real that the painter tried to hit it first before realizing it was in the painting. The painter accepted him as a trainee in his studio. The blacksmith married the painter’s daughter and later became one of the famous painters of his time.

6.2. These stories revealed as to how art form is believed to be followed in two different regions in the world. In Europe, an artist wants the viewer to see a real viewpoint by borrowing his eyes. The art must be perfect and must be illusion likeness. Whereas, in China, the artist doesn’t paint a real one but uses his inner and spiritual voice to create an abstract piece. The viewer can enter the painting from any point and can travel according to his own imagination. The artist wants the viewer to enter his mind and create a path of its own. This concept is called ‘Shanshui’ which means ‘mountain water’. When they are used together, they make the word ‘landscape’.

7. https://tcmcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/yy_movement.jpg

8. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71GOXTEEv%2BL.jpg

9. by vagishkumar

10. The Dafo Temple (Chinese: 大佛寺; pinyin: Dàfó Sì; literally Grand Buddha Temple) is a Buddhist temple in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Located in Yuexiu District, Dafo Temple is a grand temple with a history of more than one thousand years and was built by Emperor Liu Yan in the Southern Han dynasty (917–971). It has been praised as one of the "Five Largest Temples of Guangzhou" in history. Later it was destroyed and rebuilt many times. In the late Ming dynasty, the temple was declining day by day and was devastated by the war while Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao conquered Guangdong in 1649. During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor in 1663, the temple was rebuilt and expanded by Shang Kexi continuously. According to the national policy of free religious belief, the temple was approved by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government to be restored as a Buddhist temple in 1981. Then Master Guangming, vice-president of the Guangzhou Buddhist Association, served as abbot; he tried to revitalize Dafo Temple and restore the style of the large temple. On August 9, 1993, Dafo Temple was put on the list as a Municipality Protected Historic Site by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government.