Important Questions for CBSE Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 4 - Landscape of the Soul

Very Short Answer Questions: (1 Marks)

1. Word-Meaning 

i. Confucius 

Ans: A Chinese philosopher

ii. Anecdote 

Ans: A short story or event

iii. Swat 

Ans: Give a hard blow

iv. Conduit 

Ans: Channel, pipe

v. Lofty 

Ans: High

2. The story “Landscape of the Soul” is a tale about whom? 

Ans: The story "Landscape of the Soul" is about Wu Daozi, a painter.

3. The painter lived in which century? 

Ans: Wu Daozi was an eighth-century Chinese painter.

4. What was the last painting made by him? 

Ans: Wu Daozi's most recent artwork was a landscape.

5. What happened to his last painting? 

Ans: Tang Emperor Xuanzong commissioned his farewell artwork to be hung on the palace wall.

Short Answer Questions: (2 Marks)

6. What ideas were conveyed about the art by the story of Wu Daozi? 

Ans: The Chinese narrative communicated the idea that the Emperor is only capable of managing his domain and has no knowledge of the spirit of art. That is something only an artist can do.

7. What was the motive of the Chinese philosophers to write their storybooks? 

Ans: Many stories involve Confucius and other Chinese philosophers. Their goal was to lead their followers in the correct route. They also revealed the attitude with which ancient Chinese people viewed art.

8. What were the illustrations of the European stories about Quinten Metsys? 

Ans: The European stories about Quinten Metsys demonstrated the illusions of reality. The pictures focused on the outside world, whereas Asian art strives to depict the essence or inner life.

9. How the story of Wu Dao Zi is different from another story of a famous painter? 

Ans: Daozi's tale is unique in comparison to others. The other painter used to create dragon paintings sans the eyes. He imagined that sketching the dragon's eyes would cause the artwork to fly away.

10. Which story is the most representative Western painting from Flanders, Europe? 

Ans: The story is about a prominent painter in Flanders who refused to draw the eyes of a monster he had drawn.

Short Answer Questions: (3 Marks)

11. What tale does the chapter has about the Chinese painter Wu daozi? 

Ans: The Chinese Emperor commissioned the painter Wu daozi to create landscape paintings for the palace walls. He'd be hidden behind a curtain.

Only the king was allowed to witness and enjoy his work. The painter entered a lovely cave, but the king's gates would close before he could enter. All of the artworks vanished, along with their creator.

12. What illustrations were made about the Emperor and Wu Daozi in the Chinese stories? 

Ans: The Chinese fables were on the artist's skill and the magic of art. Wu Daozi painted several beautiful landscapes on the palace walls. The monarch or the emperor, on the other hand, would merely praise the work's appearance. Only an artist, he claimed, could comprehend the hidden realm of art.

13. What were the differences between European art and Chinese art? 

Ans: The western vistas that generated the actual view were illustrated by the Europeans. It would provide the appearance of actuality. The painter intended for viewers to see his work through his eyes and from a precise angle, but Chinese landscape painting was hazy. It invites visitors to see its inner beauty with their eyes as well as their imagination.

14. What do you understand by “illusionistic likeness, “figurative painting‟ and “delicate realism‟. 

Ans: The term "illusionistic" referred to the act of creating an illusion or a false appearance. The European arts produced the illusion of a real view. The term "figurative" was associated with the word "figure," which refers to a thing's real shape. The term "delicate" referred to subtle or excellent art. Art did not develop the exact point of view, but rather a close representation of it.

15. What was a horizontal scroll? What was its unique feature? How did the people appreciate it? 

Ans: Horizontal scrolling, which involves progressively uncovering one portion of a picture before rolling it up to go on to the next, adds a dimension of time not found in any other form of art. Its distinguishing feature was that it prevented us from providing an integrated perspective of the scene. It would allow the viewer to employ his imagination and thinking in the meantime. The landscape is a work of interior art, not a genuine representation.

Long Answer Questions: (5 Marks)

16. How Quinten Metsys was able to impress the painter and achieve his goal? 

Ans: Quinten Metsys, the master blacksmith, was smitten with the painter's daughter. However, he was turned down due to his low vocation. So, one day, he sneaked into the painter's studio and painted a fly on the blank canvas that was stored there. The painter felt the fly was realistic, so he flipped it away. He realised it was a painting when he realized it didn't fly away. And the painter was so delighted by the blacksmith Quinten Metsys' abilities that he accepted his daughter's request to marry him.

17. What was the third element that was represented by the „Middle Void‟ in the Chinese landscape? What role does the man play in the space between Heaven and Earth? 

Ans: The masculine energy of Yang and the female energy of Yin were thought to be incomplete without each other in Chinese philosophy. Their encounter occurs in the "middle void," or the empty space in a Chinese landscape. Nothing in the world would happen if the combination of both aspects of energy was incomplete. The position serves as a link between the Yang, or male vertical mountain, which represents Heaven, and the Yin, or female energy aspect. The Earth is flattened by water, and man becomes a conduit for communication between the two.

18. How are Yang and Yin represented in a classical Chinese landscape? 

Ans: The external aspect of an object in a classical Chinese landscape is not all there is to it. It is a symbol of inner vitality and spirit. The notion of "Shanshui," which literally means "mountain water," is used to represent the term "landscape."

Yang is the name given to the mountain. In the sun, Yang is vertical, stable, warm, and dry. It represents masculine energy and stretches out to Heaven. Yin, on the other hand, is symbolised in the landscape by water. Yin is the female side of energy, which is horizontal and rests on the ground. It has a flowing, moist, and cold feel about it. Yin is receptive, while Yang is active. To construct the world, both must interact and communicate with one another. In a Chinese landscape, the mountain and water are the two complementing poles of the earth, represented by Yang and Yin, respectively.

19. Write the summary of the poem “The Voice of the Rain”. 

Ans: Walt Whitman wrote the poem "The Voice of the Rain." Rain and the related water cycle, which nourishes life and benefits the Earth, are described in the poem. The poet describes a "conversation" he had with raindrops falling from the sky. He inquires of the rain as to who he is, and the rain responds that it is the poem of the earth. Rain has been rising invisibly in vapour form from land and water bodies, forming clouds in the sky, and then waiting to fall back to its sources. Rain falls from the sky in drips of life, ending droughts, settling dust to the earth, and bringing life to seeds and plants that would otherwise perish.

20. What are the two voices in the rain? How the rain narrated the story of her birth and functions? 

Ans: The poet's and the rain's voices are heard in the poem. As it rises from the earth in the form of light vapor and takes on the shape of dark, dense clouds, the rain narrates the story of her origin and functions. As a result of clouds strewn throughout the sky, they disintegrate in water and return to their birthplace, the soil, where rain brings new life and vegetation to the parched landscape.