欧洲文化

宁波大学科学技术学院考核答题纸 （2010--2011学年第2学期） 课号： DK5Y13A08 课程名称： 欧洲文化传统 阅卷教师： 张文涛 班级： 09英语4班 学号： 094175421 姓名： 项晓璐 成绩： A General Introduction of the Renaissance Abstract: In the paper, the author is going to give a general introduction of the Renaissance, firstly introducing when，where and why it came into being, then introducing how it developed and its essence and profound influences. Keywords: the Renaissance; origins; development; humanism; influences 1. Introduction 1.1The Definition of the Renaissance “The word‘Renaissance’came from the French language, meaning ‘revival’or ‘rebirth’. The word laid both emphasis on humanity, featuring the Renaissance thinking and the renewed fascination with the classical world. ”(彭家海, 2009) “As an artistic movement, Renaissance referred to a period in European history between the 14th and 17th centuries during which the discovering and reading of ancient Greek and Roman classics led to the flowering of painting, sculpture, architecture and so on. The Renaissance marked a transition from the medieval period to the modern age in European history. ” (A Brief History of English Literature with Selected Readings, 2005) 2. Origins of the Renaissance The society during middle ages underwent a dark period. Churches of Christ served as the moral support as well as durance of people’s minds in contemporary feudal society. “Italy differing sharply from other areas of Europe in the extent to which it was urban. In the early 14th century, the city-republic of Florence became increasingly prosperous among the city-states in the north of Italy, such as Venice, Genoa, Milan and Pisa with the birth of sprouts of capitalism.”(Patrick Geary, Patricia O’Brien, 1991:324) The bourgeois highly resolved to get rid of the cord of theology. Then Renaissance first started in Florence and Venice. in late 13th century Florence, in particular with the writings of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) and Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374), as well as the painting of Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337). 2.1Political background “In the early 15th, human activities were characterized by ordered habits or behaviors which were similar to the Italian government. During the early 15th, governmental systems and national territories were in their expansion and enlargement. In the meanwhile, the political systems were stabilized which kept the communities from dramatic changes.”（坚尼, 朱龙华,1969:171） Comparatively speaking, the communities regulated the cities in a better order than bishops and counts did. More importantly, the former laid a more extensive political foundation which helped provide a political frame for Italian economic revival. 2.2Economic background “In the 11th and 12th century, Italian merchants and seamen spread their businesses along the Mediterranean sea, East Sea and Black Sea. In the 13th century, the wool and the textile industries in Florence occupied a prominent place in both European and Asian markets which assisted its citizens in accumulating a great amount of fortune. ” (坚尼，朱龙华,1969:63） The diversified economic activities in which the inhabitants engaged created vast concentrations of wealth with vigorous and vibrant development of its economic prospect. 2.3Cultural background “The Renaissance began in Florence, not elsewhere in Italy. Several features unique to Florentine cultural life may have caused such a cultural movement. Many had emphasized the role played by the Medici, a banking family and later ducal ruling house, in patronizing and stimulating the arts. Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492) was the catalyst for an enormous amount of arts patronage, encouraging his countryman to commission works from Florence's leading artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti.” In the meanwhile, bored of the complex writing style of Scholastics, litterateur like Petrarch tried to find the improve himself .In the libraries of monasteries in Italy and southern France , the humanists –scholar who were interested in literature, history and moral philosophy, found many copies of Latin literature. More Greek and Latin classics were available in the 15th century when the Italian humanists developed contact with Byzantine scholars who escaped to Italy after the fall pf Constantinople. 3. The Development of the Renaissance 3.1The early 14th century: The Period of Early Primitive Renaissance During this period, widely and thoroughly influenced by activists in St. Francis of Assisi, contemporary citizens, respect of ideological sphere, disentangled a skein of feudal, conservative, and stifling theologies and eulogized the values of the beauty of nature and the beauty of human beings. The development of literature reached the most unprecedented stage during that time. The center of this movement at that time was Florence. And its representative personages were three excellent literature giants: Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374), and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). And their well-known works were the Divine Comedy, Africa and the Decameron all of which had profound influences on the world’s literature. The Divine Comedy shined the dawn of humanism, focused on the darkness of church and conducted a ruthless expose of corruption and criticism. Due to the prevalence of the three Florentine wizards’ works, the dialect in their hometown became the predecessor of modern Italian. Worth mentioning, Giotto (1267–1337) was honored as father of painting in Europe whose artistry influence lasted for one hundred years on Italian painting style. 3.2 Late 14th and to the Middle 15th: Stage of Preparation for the High Renaissance During this period, humanism and arts of literature were both promoted more widely and thoroughly, contributing to the emerging of prominent and influential painters, sculptors, and architects, among who were painter Masaccio (1401-1428), sculptor Donatello (1386-1464) and architect Fillip Brunelleschi (1377-1446) who , during 1434 and 1437, host and designed Florence Cathedral Grand Dome characterized by large and magnificent scope. 3.3 Late 15th and to the Middle 16th: Stage of the High Renaissance This period lasted for 37 years. Its well-known representatives were three giants--Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Their art reached a height where no stage in the history had got to before or after that period until now. “Mona Lisa has smiled for more than 500 years which is a legend in the art field. Consequently, now, in the 21st century, a great number of art enthusiasts will go to Louvre Museum admiring the beauty of the giant's excellent works or longed for a heart-to-heart dialogue with da Vinci. A scene—— two fingers touching in another distinguished works of Michelangelo have continued to be used by advertisers in their advertisements. The ancient philosophers as vivid as living in the school of Athens are still in high praise of modern people. We, living in modern times, speak highly of them not only due to their unrestrained and vigorous styles of masterpieces but also owing to their outstanding personalities.” However, in the contemporary times, da Vinci was said to a :“jerk”. Sometimes someone saw him sketch the ones who had been hanged in the execution ground. Occasionally, he performed vivisection on corps by the candle light at midnight. More interestingly, he was seen to trace a uniquely ugly person and others were shocked by da Vinci's opinion that the hideous and the charming were extraordinarily out of common. He was a genius who was praised as painter, mathematician, inventor and somatic anthropologist. Imprescriptibly speaking, he was not a Christian, never believing in theology. Michelangelo like da Vinci was an all-round litterateur, which was the most ordinary trait during that time. 3.4Late 16th and to the Middle 17th: Stage of the Late Renaissance The sack of Rome was a symbol announcing the end of the Renaissance during which the celebrities were four painters: Giorgione (1477-1510), Titian (1490-1576) and Tintoretto (1517-1594) all of whose art styles belonged to school of Venice. And contemporary three famous scientists and ideologists: Giordano Bruno (1584-1600), Galileo Galilee (1564-1642), and Thomas Campanula (1568-1639). 4. The Essence of the Renaissance: Humanism “As wealth grew in Italy, there grew an increasing interest in other pursuits. Universities, libraries, academies were set up for scholastic studies. There was time and money for things of beauty and breaths of arts. Intellectuals who used to help training priests and spreading doctrines of Christian faith became closely tied up with the rising bourgeoisie. They provided the new moneyed class with a new philosophy and culture in harmony with their needs and aspiration.”(王,祝,李,高,1992:131) Compared with the medieval scholastic mode, which focused on resolving contradictions between authors, humanists would study ancient texts in the original, and appraise them through a combination of reasoning and empirical evidence. Humanist education was based on the program of Studio Humanitarians that being the study of five humanities: poetry, grammar, history, moral philosophy and rhetoric. Humanism was the essence of the “Renaissance, a kind of new, rising capitalism ideological trend against feudalism as well as the original form of bourgeois humanism. Its characters were listed as follows: 1) valuing human values: It demanded human to make full use of intelligence and potential of creation and advocated optimistic spirit of adventure, while against negative and incapable attitudes.2) valuing present life: It would pursue the satisfaction of material and carnal desire and strongly dissent on religious ascetics rather than think highly of the tales about eternal life or heaven. In terms of literature, it inspired the expression of true feelings and thoughts and thought little of hypocrisy and cutesification.3) valuing scientific researches: It emphasized on utilizing human intellect and contempt self-control.4) advocating optimistic attitude toward life. The humanists believed that it was important to transcend the afterlife with a perfect mind and body. ” The purpose of humanism was to create a universal man who combined intellectual and physical excellence and who was capable of functioning honorably in virtually any situation. The education during Renaissance was mainly composed of ancient literature and history. It was thought that the classics provided moral instruction and an intensive understanding of human behavior. 5. The Profound Influence of the Renaissance 5.1 The Exploration and Discovery of Humanism Compared with middle ages, human beings were thought to be inferior, negative and incapable and even the humanism was spoken little of. The Renaissance discovered human and its greatness affirmed its values and creations and advocated to set it free. The values of human were being discovered in the religious times. In terms of human, it was no longer a body stuck by feudalism or religion. The Renaissance thoroughly confirmed human values, attached much importance to humanism and proved to a vigorous appeal to smashing Middle Ages’ veil and promoting political, economic, philosophical and theological values. A revolutionary storm in the ideological sphere of new bourgeois was called “Giants Emergence Time”. 5.2 Smashing of Religious Mysticism and Forceful Promotion for Reformation The Renaissance smashed religious mysticism and its control, pushed forward and influenced the reformation. The Renaissance thought highly of real life, strongly opposed authority and aroused the suspicion and antipathy towards theology among contemporary people. Say Petrarch’s discrimination between true and false ideas generated the outbreak of reformation. Furthermore, Martin Luther brought forward, “I am a person whose title is holier than the monarch. It is because God has never created the monarch. God creates human and makes an ordinary person.” He was alone all his whole life which indicated his high evaluation of human values and attach importance to worldly enjoyments. The examples listed above fully demonstrated the Renaissance propelled the reformation. As a consequence, the original world, unknowable, incapable and impossible turned out to be knowable and capable and possible. 5.3Impinging the Domination of the Scholasticism The Renaissance reversed the domination of scholasticism, paving the way for progress of ideas and reviving various secular philosophies, including British materialism empiricism. Simultaneously, the development of politics was greatly progressed. Theories advanced by a series of ideologists including Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), Benedicts Spinoza (1632-1677), Hobbes Thomas (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) were Natural right, Social contracts as well as Checks and balances which made a thoroughly good preparation for the Enlightenment and the Bourgeois Revolution. 5.4 Negation of Feudal Privileges In the middle ages, feudal privileges were unalterable principles and deep-rooted among the whole society, becoming less persuasive due to the impact of the Renaissance. The nobly of human beings was endowed with brand-new connotation. In the contemporary Italy, talents, means and wealth took place of parentage becoming a ladder on which anybody climbed in order to reach top society. The feudal aristocrats were no longer gifted with privileges. That is to say, if anyone incapable of doing anything, no one would respect him any more. Noble class made up of aristocrats was not treated as the most respectable one. 5.5Accumulation of the Primitive Capital As an emancipation of the mind disseminating new, rising bourgeois culture, the Renaissance laid a solid foundation for primitive sprouts of capitalism, accumulating wealth for primitive bourgeoisie. A series of new-pattern cities emerged attributing to the spreading of the Renaissance from Mediterranean to Atlantic coast during which capitalist industry started to thrive on with the capital swarming into the bourgeoisie. Necessary conditions were provided for discovering of new route and the coming reformation and bourgeois revolution. 6. Conclusion “The Renaissance influenced the ideological trend, leading to the reformation and the crusades. It set an example to the Enlightenment. The development of science, geographical great discovery and births of new nations were derived from the Renaissance, in 19th century’s historians’ point of view. The watershed between the Middle Ages, the so-called “dark ages” and modern ages as well as the public opinions of bourgeois revolution were inspired by the Renaissance due to which the Europe extricate itself from the bondage of degenerate feudal religion, a prelude for worldwide expansion. The prosperity of thoughts was also propelled by the Renaissance.” Reference 1. 彭家海. 西方文化引论[M]. 武汉：华中师范大学出版社.2009. 2. 王佐良, 祝钰, 李品伟. 欧洲文化入门[M].北京: 外语教学与研究出版社.1992. 3. 坚尼·布鲁克尔, 朱龙华译. 文艺复兴时期的佛罗伦萨[M]. 北京：文化生活译丛. 1969. 4. A Brief History of English Literature with Selected Readings [M].2005. 5. Patrick Geary, Patricia O’Brien. Civilization in the West [M]. Harper Collins Publishers. 1991. 6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance（accessed0506//2011） 7. http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/227739625.html?an=1&si=1 (accessed05/06/2011) 8. http://apps.hi.baidu.com/share/detail/86291 (accessed13/06/2011) \9.http://iask.sina.com.cn/b/16485784.htm l (accessed13/06/2011)共0条评论... � http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance(accessed05/06/2011) � http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/227739625.html?an=1&si=1(accessed05/06/2011) � http://apps.hi.baidu.com/share/detail/86291(accessed13/06/2011) � http://iask.sina.com.cn/b/16485784.html(accessed13/06/2011)