Topic Review
Christian Chinese cloisonné
Cloisonné is the technique of creating designs on metal vessels with colored-glass paste placed within enclosures made of copper or bronze wires, which have been bent or hammered into the desired pattern. Known as cloisons (French for “partitions”), the enclosures generally are either pasted or soldered onto the metal body. The first written reference of Cloisonné in China is in Cao Zhao’s Gegu yaolun (格古要論)), or Important discussions about assessing antiques (1388), where it is called “Dashi (‘Muslim’) ware”. However, the oldest known pieces in China correspond to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Similarly, in Cao Zhao’s book, cloisonné was associated with the trousseau of elite ladies, but was not yet considered appropriate for the art collection of refined literati. In Chinese cloisonné, blue is the predominant color, and the Chinese name for the technique is jingtailan (“blue Jingtai objects”) referring to Emperor Jingtai (r. 1449–1457), in whose times the production of these objects flourished. By the late Ming Dynasty, cloisonné passed from the trousseau of the Chinese elite ladies and Buddhist temples to the collections of the literati as an exquisite object to integrate into the Chinese artistic tradition. What is more, it was even part of sets of offerings in Confucian mausoleums and in the halls of representation of power in the Forbidden City. To achieve the definitive implantation of Christianity in China, since the 17th century the Jesuit missionaries used the adaptationist method in their preaching and artistic practices to be able to empathize with Chinese audiences. Thus, they used Western models, but adaptingadapted to the visual language and the ornamental and symbolic motifs of the Chinese artistic tradition. In any case, the Jesuits aimed to convert the elites first. To do this, they used artistic and literary means already established in the Chinese culture of the literati, such as cloisonné precious objects and Chinese inscriptions. Thus, these objects of art are not only situated within a dialogue between the West and the East but also within the stratification of the Chinese society that the Jesuits took into consideration.
  • 851
  • 22 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Folk Art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are normally trained within a popular tradition, rather than in the fine art tradition of the culture. There is often overlap, or contested ground, with naive art, but in traditional societies where ethnographic art is still made, that term is normally used instead of "folk art". The types of object covered by the term varies considerably and in particular "divergent categories of cultural production are comprehended by its usage in Europe, where the term originated, and in the United States, where it developed for the most part along very different lines." Folk arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. They encompass the body of expressive culture associated with the fields of folklore and cultural heritage. Tangible folk art includes objects which historically are crafted and used within a traditional community. Intangible folk arts include such forms as music, dance and narrative structures. Each of these arts, both tangible and intangible, was originally developed to address a real need. Once this practical purpose has been lost or forgotten, there is no reason for further transmission unless the object or action has been imbued with meaning beyond its initial practicality. These vital and constantly reinvigorated artistic traditions are shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice.
  • 850
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Multilingual Pedagogies in Norwegian Schools
Teachers in Norway have been increasingly faced with the challenge of adapting their instruction methods to address the needs of minority-language students. It seems to indicate that multilingual practices are being introduced in Norwegian classrooms. However, they often rely on majority languages, such as English and Norwegian. Some teachers have been found to employ minority languages to support learners’ English writing in drafts. Minority languages in Norwegian schools tend to be regarded as less valuable than Norwegian and English.
  • 847
  • 29 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Causes of Mental Disorders
A mental disorder is an impairment of the mind disrupting normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, or social interactions, and accompanied by significant distress or dysfunction. The causes of mental disorders are very complex and vary depending on the particular disorder and the individual. Although the causes of most mental disorders are not fully understood, researchers have identified a variety of biological, psychological, and environmental factors that can contribute to the development or progression of mental disorders. Most mental disorders result in a combination of several different factors rather than just a single factor.
  • 846
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Longchen Nyingthig
Longchen Nyingthig (Tibetan: ཀློང་ཆེན་སྙིང་ཐིག་, Wylie: klong chen snying thig) is a terma, revealed scripture, of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, which gives a systematic explanation of Dzogchen. It was revealed by Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798).
  • 842
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Data Quality—Concepts and Problems
Data Quality is, in essence, understood as the degree to which the data of interest satisfies the requirements, is free of flaws, and is suited for the intended purpose. Data Quality is usually measured utilizing several criteria, which may differ in terms of assigned importance, depending on, e.g., the data at hand, stakeholders, or the intended use.
  • 807
  • 14 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Transforming Residential Interiors into Workspaces during COVID-19 Pandemic
Residential interiors (RIs) have been designed by anonymous designers throughout history and have reflected their users’ identity, culture, and habits until modern times, although design and architecture courses rarely involve residential interiors in their curriculums. Therefore, decision-makers (architects, interior architects, designers, and users) took them for granted. However, COVID-19 forced revisiting this approach towards RIs and they faced a gap in the literature helping them to design these interiors, especially workspaces, in order to improve their users’ experience. 
  • 840
  • 20 Jul 2022
Biography
Oskar Negt
Oskar Reinhard Negt (German pronunciation: [ˈneːkt]; born 1 August 1934 in Kapkeim, East Prussia) is a philosopher and critical social theorist. He is an emeritus professor of sociology at Leibniz University Hannover, and one of Germany's most prominent social scientists.[1][2] Little of his work has been translated into English. Negt studied law and philosophy in the University of Göttingen
  • 840
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras (/ˌænækˈsæɡərəs/; Greek: Ἀναξαγόρας, Anaxagoras, "lord of the assembly"; c. 500 – c. 428 BC) was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae at a time when Asia Minor was under the control of the Persian Empire, Anaxagoras came to Athens. According to Diogenes Laërtius and Plutarch, in later life he was charged with impiety and went into exile in Lampsacus; the charges may have been political, owing to his association with Pericles, if they were not fabricated by later ancient biographers. Responding to the claims of Parmenides on the impossibility of change, Anaxagoras described the world as a mixture of primary imperishable ingredients, where material variation was never caused by an absolute presence of a particular ingredient, but rather by its relative preponderance over the other ingredients; in his words, "each one is... most manifestly those things of which there are the most in it". He introduced the concept of Nous (Cosmic Mind) as an ordering force, which moved and separated out the original mixture, which was homogeneous, or nearly so. He also gave a number of novel scientific accounts of natural phenomena. He deduced a correct explanation for eclipses and described the Sun as a fiery mass larger than the Peloponnese, as well as attempting to explain rainbows and meteors.
  • 836
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Proto-Austroasiatic
Proto-Austroasiatic is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austroasiatic languages. Proto-Mon–Khmer (i.e., all Austroasiatic branches except for Munda) has been reconstructed in Harry L. Shorto's Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary, while a new Proto-Austroasiatic reconstruction is currently being undertaken by Paul Sidwell.
  • 835
  • 01 Dec 2022
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