二、非選擇題
I. Summarizing
Please write a summary in 150 to 200 words for the following passage.
Fisherman stranded before a huge, foaming wave; Mount Fuji rising up, immutable, in a clear sky at sunrise; a man straining on a rocky outcrop, assailed by the swirling tide; mesengers galloping at breakneck speed across rice fields--these universally recognized images are among the iconic prints from Thirty-sir Fiews of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai.
Hokusai, a master of ukiyo-e printmaking, achieved his most celebrated artistic triumph in his seventies with the creation of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Commenced around 1829 and completed by 1833, this monumental series represented a revolutionary approach to landscape art in Japan. The collection, which ultimately expanded to forty-six prints, captured the sacred volcano from myriad perspectives, establishing Hokusai's artistic legacy and profoundly influencing both Eastern and Western artistic traditions.
The series presented an audacious publishing venture--luxurious, large-format horizontal prints aimed at an affluent middle-class clientele. The publisher, Nishimuraya Eijudo, took considerable risk in dedicating such an extensive series to landscape imagery, a departure from the traditional ukiyo-e subjects of actors, courtesans, and urban scenes. This gamble proved remarkably successful, propelled by Hokusai's artistic brilliance and the cultural reverence for Mount Fuji.
Hokusai's genius manifests in his inexhaustible visual invention. He portrays the dormant volcano from countless vantage points, under varying atmospheric conditions--bathed in moming light, shrouded in storns, blanketed by snow, or serenely reflected in lakes. Sometimes the mountain dominates the composition; elsewhere it appears as a diminutive element on the horizon, while human activities occupy the foreground. This interplay between the eternal mountain and ephemeral human.existence reflects Hokusai's Shintoist sensibilies, emphasizing harmony between humanity and nature.
Hokusai's genius manifests in his inexhaustible visual invention. He portrays the dormant volcano from countless vantage points, under varying atmospheric conditions---bathed in morning light, shrouded in storms, blanketed by snow, or serenely reflected in lakes. Sometimes the mountain dominates the composition; elsewhere it appears as a diminutive element on the horizon, while human activities occupy the foreground. This interplay between the eternal mountain and ephemeral human existence reflects Hokusai's Shintoist sensibilies, emphasizing harmony between humanity and nature.
The artistic achievement of these prints lies partly in Hokusai's masterful synthesis of traditional Japanese aesthetics with Westem techniques. Many views employ purely Japanese compositional principles, particularly those presenting Fuji's austere silhouette in majestic isolation. Others skillfully incorporate Western perspective to create spatial depth through receding planes,demonstrating Hokusai's remarkable ability to assimilate foreign artistic concents without compromising his cultural identity.
Mount Fuji itself, rising 12,388 feet above the Japanese landscape, held profound cultural and spiritual significance. Venerated since ancient times as yama no kami (a sacred mountaintain), it was associated with immortality and inhabited by Shinto deities. Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines adorned its slopes, attracting male pilgrims during the summer months. Women were prohibited from making the ascent until 1872, when changing attitudes finally permitted their particion in in this sacred ritual.
The technical innovation of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji was equally significant. Hokusai employed Prussian blue, a recently imported synthetic pigment, for the key block outines in the original thirty-six prints. This vibrant, stablue--superior to traditional vegetable-based pigments that deteriorated over time--revolutionized Japanese printmaking, particularly landscape depiction.Its application in skies, waters, and outlines gave the prints unprecedented chromatic intensity and permanence.
The series' immense success inspired Hokusai to create One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji,published in three volumes between 1834 and 1840. This subsequent work, rendered in delicate gray tones at smaller scale, extended his meditation on the sacred peak. His follower Hiroshige later produced his own series of Mount Fuji views, yet these never attained the artistic perfection of Hokusai's groundbreaking originals.
The legacy of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji transcended Japanese borders, profoundly influencing European Impressionists. Artists like Monet and Riviere, enchanted by these Japanese ndscapes, adopted Hokusai's approach of exploring a single subject under varying demonstrating how this elderly Japanese master's vision resonated across cultures and generations,forever altering the course of artistic expression.
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