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Introduction to European culture
Renaissance is an ideological and cultural movement in 14 ~ 16 century, which reflects the requirements of the emerging bourgeoisie in western European countries. Its main center was originally in Italy.

The essence of the Renaissance: it is not a simple revival of the classical culture of Greece and Rome, but the rise of a new cultural form, that is, bourgeois ideology, which represents the interests and demands of the bourgeoisie, advocates and shouts for the bourgeoisie to enter the political arena, and is a great liberation movement in the field of European culture.

The Renaissance opened the curtain of modern European history and was the dividing line between the Middle Ages and the modern times. This is the boundary between feudalism and capitalism.

The word Renaissance originated from the Italian word Rinascimento, which means regeneration or revival. Later, it was extended to western European countries and reached its peak in16th century. 1550, vasari officially took it as the name of the new culture in the biography of the celebrity of the Art Garden. This word is transliterated as Renaissance in French, and is widely used in European countries after17th century. 19th century, western historians further regarded it as the floorboard of western European culture from 14 to16th century. Western historians once thought that this was the revival of culture and art in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

Production:

The Catholic church monopolized all knowledge education, ruled people's thoughts with feudal theology, suppressed scientific research, and the culture fell into a low tide.

In order to develop capitalism and pursue the enjoyment of life, the emerging bourgeoisie demands an exhibition in the ideological field? The more you cook, the more exposed you are.

During the period of14 ~16th century, a new bourgeois cultural trend first appeared.

With the help of the classical culture of ancient Greece and Rome, many intellectuals attacked the shackles of the church from various aspects and established a bourgeois humanistic worldview. What people thought at that time was actually the rise of bourgeois culture.

/kloc-in the 0/4th century, with the development of workshop handicraft industry and commodity economy, the capitalist relationship gradually formed within the European feudal system; Politically, the feudal regime caused widespread dissatisfaction, the national consciousness began to awaken, and the masses of European countries showed a strong desire for national unity. As a result, a new era reflecting the interests and demands of emerging capitalist forces began to appear in culture and art. The emerging bourgeoisie thought that medieval culture was a retrogression, while Greek and Roman classical culture was a bright and developed model, and they tried to revive classical culture-and the so-called "revival" was actually an unprecedented liberation and creation of knowledge and spirit.

At that time, Italy was in a multi-city state, and each city was an independent or semi-independent country. /kloc-After 0/4th century, cities gradually moved from * * * harmony to dictatorship. Dictators indulge in pleasure and believe in neo-Platonism, hoping to get rid of the shackles of religious asceticism and vigorously protect artists' descriptions of secular life. At the same time, the religious radicalism of Franciscans tried to abandon the scholasticism of orthodox religion and praise the beauty of nature and the spiritual value of human beings. The Vatican is also moving towards corruption. The pope's enjoyment is more severe than that of secular dictators. They are also protecting artists and allowing art to deviate from orthodox religious dogma. Philosophy and science are gradually developing in a relatively relaxed atmosphere, and are also brewing the prelude to the religious reform.

The Renaissance originated in northern Italy. It is generally believed that Dante was the first representative, and his masterpiece was The Divine Comedy. His works criticized and exposed the corruption and stupidity of medieval religious rule in an implicit way for the first time, and were written in local dialect instead of Latin, the official literary language of medieval Europe.

Another representative figure is Petrarch, who believes that ancient Greece and Rome were the most perfect times of human nature, and it was against nature to suppress human nature in the Middle Ages. Although he studied Latin literature deeply and extensively, he wrote a large number of lyric poems in the form of sonnets in Italian dialect, which were warmly welcomed by the rulers of various cities and countries.

Another important reason for the Renaissance was 1453, when the Ottoman Turkish Empire captured Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire perished. Influenced by oriental culture, a large number of talents who still retained the spirit of the Roman Empire fled to Italy, brought back many fresh ideas and arts, and set up schools in Rome to teach Greek, which promoted the formation of the Renaissance.

Third, the idea of Renaissance works

Renaissance works embody humanism: advocating individual liberation and opposing asceticism and religious views in the Middle Ages; Advocate scientific culture, oppose obscurantism, and get rid of the shackles of the church on people's thoughts; Affirm human rights, oppose theocracy, and abandon all authority and traditional dogma as the basis of theology and scholasticism; Supporting centralization and opposing feudal separatism are the main ideas of humanism. The representative works include Dante's Divine Comedy, Boccaccio's decameron, Machiavelli's The Prince, and rabelais's Biography of the Giant.

Renaissance art praised the beauty of the human body, claiming that the proportion of the human body is the most harmonious in the world, and applied it to architecture. Although a series of paintings and sculptures still focus on religious stories, they all show the scenes of ordinary people and pull God to the ground.

Humanists began to study the Bible by studying classical literature and translated it into the national language, which led to the rise of the Reformation.

Humanism praises the secular and despises the heaven, flaunts rationality rather than the revelation of God, affirms that "man" is the creator and enjoyer of secular life, requires literature and art to express people's thoughts and feelings, scientifically seeks for the welfare of people, educates and develops people's personality, and requires people's thoughts, feelings and wisdom to be liberated from the shackles of theology. Advocating individual freedom has played a great role in historical development.

Fourth, different kinds of Renaissance.

(1) natural science

1 astronomy

1543, the polish astronomer Copernicus published the theory of celestial bodies, in which he proposed a Heliocentrism system different from Ptolemaic geocentric theory. Bruno, an Italian thinker, declared in his works "On Infinity, Universe and All Worlds" and "On Cause, Origin and Unity" that the universe is infinite in space and time, and the sun is only the solar system, not the center of the universe. Galileo invented the astronomical telescope in 1609, published the Star Messenger in 16 10, and published the Dialogue between Ptolemy and Copernicus in 1632. Kepler, a German astronomer, put forward three laws of planetary motion in New Astronomy (1609) and Harmony of the World (16 19) by studying the observation data of Tycho, a Danish astronomer, and determined that the planetary motion around the sun along an elliptical orbit is not constant.

2. Mathematics

Algebra made great progress in the Renaissance, and the solutions of cubic and quartic equations were found. Cardano, an Italian, published a formula for finding the roots of cubic equation in his book Great Skills, but the discovery of this formula should be attributed to another scholar, tartaglia. The solution of the quartic equation was discovered by Ferrari, a student in cardano, and also recorded in The Great Book. Bombelli expounded the irreducibility of cubic equations in his works, used imaginary numbers, and improved the popular algebraic symbols at that time. Symbolic algebra was founded by the French mathematician Veda in the16th century. He published "Introduction to Analytical Methods" at 159 1, systematically arranged algebra, and for the first time consciously used letters to represent unknowns and known numbers. In his other book, On the Identification and Correction of Equations, David improved the solutions of cubic and quartic equations, and established the relationship between the roots and coefficients of quadratic and cubic equations, which is the modern Vieta theorem. Trigonometry also made great progress during the Renaissance. On Triangle, written by German mathematician Reggio Montanus, is the first trigonometry work independent of astronomy in Europe. The book systematically expounds the plane triangle and spherical triangle, as well as a very accurate trigonometric function table. On the basis of redefining trigonometric function, Rhaticus, a student of Copernicus, made a more accurate trigonometric function table.

3. Physics

In physics, Galileo discovered the three laws of falling body, parabola and shaking through many experiments, which made people have a new understanding of the universe. His student Torricelli proved the air pressure through experiments and invented the mercury barometer. Pascal, a French scientist, discovered the law of pressure propagation in liquids and gases. British scientist Boyle discovered the law of gas pressure.

4. Physiology and Medicine

Belgian doctor Vesaliua Uss published the book Human Body Structure, which challenged Galen's "Trinity" theory. Spanish doctor Servit discovered the small circulation system of blood, which proved that blood flows from the right ventricle to the lungs and reaches the left ventricle through a tortuous route. Harvey, a British anatomist, published the theory of heart-blood movement through a large number of animal anatomy experiments, which systematically explained the law of blood movement and the working principle of the heart. He pointed out that the heart is the center of blood movement and the source of strength. This great discovery made him the founder of modern physiology.

5. "Great geographical discovery"

There has been a revolutionary leap in navigation technology, and explorers from Portugal, Spain and Italy have started a series of long-distance navigation activities. The geographical discoveries of Columbus and Magellan provide strong evidence for the theory of the earth circle.

6. The rediscovery of printing in Europe and the spread of papermaking, compass and gunpowder (the four great inventions of China) from the East have promoted the rapid spread of scientific ideas.

(2) Literature

Writers all over the world began to use their own dialects instead of Latin for literary creation, which promoted the development of popular literature and injected a large number of literary works into various languages, including novels, poems, essays, folk songs, plays and so on.

In Italy, there were "three outstanding literary figures" in the early Renaissance. Dante wrote many academic works and poems in his life, among which the famous ones are "New Life" and "Divine Comedy". Petrarch is the originator of humanism and is known as the "father of humanism". He was the first to call for the revival of classical culture and put forward the idea that "humanism" opposed "theology". Petrarch mainly wrote many beautiful poems, among which the representative work is Lyric Sonnets. Boccaccio is the founder of Italian national literature, and decameron, a collection of short stories, is his masterpiece.

In France, the Renaissance obviously formed two factions, one is optimates represented by Seven Star Poetry Society, and the other is Democrats represented by rabelais. The Seven Star Poetry Society, represented by Longsha and Du Beilai, has made outstanding contributions to language and poetry theory. They first put forward the idea of unifying national languages, which promoted the development of French national languages and national literature. But they rejected folk poetry and only served a few nobles. Rabelais is an outstanding humanist writer after Boccaccio and a representative of the French Renaissance Democrats. The Biography of the Giant, which he created in 20 years, is a realistic work interwoven with reality and fantasy, and occupies an important position in the history of European literature and education.

In Britain, the representatives are Thomas Moore and Shakespeare. Thomas Moore is a famous humanist thinker and the founder of utopian socialism. 15 16 Utopia, which he wrote in Latin, is the first work of utopian socialism. Shakespeare is a gifted playwright and poet. He, together with Homer, Dante and Goethe, is called the four great European writers. His works have complete structure, vivid plot, rich and refined language and outstanding personality, which represent the highest achievement of European Renaissance literature and have a far-reaching impact on the development of European realistic literature.

In Spain, the most outstanding representatives are Cervantes and Vega. Cervantes is a realistic writer, dramatist and poet. He wrote a large number of poems, plays and novels, of which Don Quixote, a long satirical novel, was the most famous, which had a great influence on the development of European literature. Vega is a dramatist, novelist and poet, the founder of Spanish national drama, and is known as the "father of Spanish drama". He is one of the few prolific writers in the world. He wrote more than 2,000 plays in his life, and more than 600 have been handed down to this day. There are religious drama, historical drama, divine drama, robe and sword drama, pastoral drama and other forms, which deeply reflect the social reality of Spain and are deeply loved by the masses. The most outstanding representative work is Yangquan Village.

(3) architecture

Renaissance architecture is an architectural style that was born in Italy in the14th century with the cultural movement of Renaissance. Based on the criticism of the supremacy of theocracy in the Middle Ages and the affirmation of humanitarianism, architects hope to reshape the harmonious order of the ideal classical society with the help of classical proportions. Therefore, generally speaking, Renaissance architecture pays attention to order and proportion, with strict facade and plane composition and column system inherited from classical architecture.

1, function

* Learn the classical style represented by ancient Greece and Rome and develop the concept of' column'.

* Emphasize that the proportion of buildings is the same as that of people, which reflects the harmony and laws of the universe and strongly reflects the influence of Pythagoras and Plato's traditions.

* Use symmetrical shape and center.

* Restore "nature", draw with a ruler and ruler, mainly with circles and squares.

* Oppose Gothic architecture

2. Famous architecture and architects

Filippo brunelleschi

In terms of time and place, Florence, Italy is considered as the beginning of the Renaissance. The cathedral built by Fillipo Brunelleschi, an architect in Florence, Italy, does not take the form of Goethe, but looks like Notre Dame in Byzantine period, but instead of using the spinnaker arch, the pointed arch is directly placed on an octagonal wall. Finally, a small pavilion at the top of the arch looks dangerous, which plays a role in connecting several parts of the arch and pressing them together with its own weight. In addition, this vault is a wooden roof, not a Roman stone or concrete roof.

However, during the closure of the Franciscan order of St. Scrooge, the chapel built for the Pazzi family did use a jib arch. This time, the lower plane is square, and the upper plane is cantilever arch and circular arch. The technology lost for centuries has finally come back to life. From then on, the dome and the plane of basilica became the standard in the following centuries.

Leon battista alberti Leon Batista Alberti

Filippo plays the role of a traditional medieval craftsman. Leon Batista Alberti is a real representative of Renaissance architects. He really raised Renaissance architecture to a theoretical level. His architectural theory was published in 1485. It is worth mentioning here that Gutenberg invented printing, which made cultural exchange faster. This is an important factor in cultural exchange. In this book, he discusses the possibility of architecture from the perspective of Renaissance humanists. According to Euclid's mathematical principles, he proposed to recombine the basic collection systems such as circles and squares in proportion to find the golden section of architectural beauty. In the process of building the Ruselle Palace, he used all kinds of columns, all of which were carefully weighed. The top of the palace is also an original deep eaves, even covering the roof, so that the appearance of the building remains complete square.

Donato Bramante

Bramao is the man who pushed this ancient rationalism spirit to the extreme. He tried his best to examine every architectural scale. From his Tempietto in San Pietro, you can see that this ratio has been scrutinized to be almost perfect. In the future, many public and religious buildings, such as St. Peter's Church, Pantheon, and even the White House, have the shadow of Bramao.

The greatest work of the Renaissance can be said to be St. Peter's Church, which was built for more than a century. The list of architects is like who's who in the Renaissance. And this beginning, or skeleton, was done by Bramao. Raphael, Peruzzi, Sangalo Junior, Michelangelo, Vignola, Della Berta, fontana and Madena followed closely.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo was not a professional architect but a great sculptor. Because of this, he avoided the disadvantages of his contemporaries who were too entangled in proportion, and refined architecture from a unique three-dimensional perspective of a sculptor. He uses various techniques, such as disturbing the balance, or using narrow walkways or colonnades to achieve touching architectural effects, but he doesn't care much about whether it conforms to strict classical proportions. Among them, the giant column used in St. Peter's Cathedral was obtained by raising the ordinary column several times. This creative application of classical patterns introduced the Renaissance into later technicalism.

Palladio (Palladio)

The leader of Vicenza is Palladio, who is a serious classicist. The sublimation of classicism always makes this master's works as pure as diamonds. It embodies the accuracy of the mathematical aesthetic feeling of Renaissance architecture and the control of the central plane. Looking further, we can see that under this strict aesthetic system, as the main body of architecture, it has been squeezed into a very marginal corner, and architecture has completely become the carrier of concepts in Palladio's hands.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) National Characteristics of Renaissance

(a) Italy and its representatives

On behalf of:

Poets: Dante, Petrarch;

Writers: Boccaccio, Machiavelli;

Painters: Giotto, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Raphael, Titian;

Sculptor: Michelangelo; Architect: Filippo Brwnelle-Schi;

Musicians: Palestrina, Lasso, etc.

(2) Spain and its representatives

The Spanish Renaissance entered the "golden age" in the second half of16th century and the beginning of17th century, and made remarkable achievements in novels and dramas.

Representative figures: writer Cervantes and dramatist Lope de Vega.

(3) Germany and its representatives

In Germany: the main achievements are in the religious reform, peasant war, satirical literature and scientific and technological inventions.

Representative figures: Martin Luther, Diu Lei, etc.

(4) France and its representatives

In France: free thinking and skeptical thinking are quite developed.

Representative figures: essayist: Montaigne, novelist: rabelais, etc.

(5) Britain and its representatives

In Britain: Poetry and drama are flourishing like never before.

Representative figures: writer Shakespeare, etc.

Sixth, the significance of the Renaissance.

For a long time, the Renaissance was regarded as a simple restoration of classical culture. In fact, the Renaissance did not really want to "restore" classical culture, but to attack the culture and system at that time, so as to establish a new culture and create public opinion for the establishment of a new social system.

Renaissance is a period of gradual development, with no clear dividing line and events. But the Renaissance changed people's thinking at that time, which led to the religious reform and fierce religious war. The later Enlightenment took the Renaissance as an example. /kloc-historians in the 0 th and 9 th centuries believe that the subsequent scientific development, geographical discoveries and the birth of nation-states all originated from the Renaissance. Renaissance is the watershed between the middle ages and modern times in the "dark age" and the public opinion premise of bourgeois revolution. Renaissance is a prelude to liberating Europe from the shackles of decadent feudal religions and expanding it to the whole world.

Its main performance is as follows:

1, Renaissance is a great change in the field of ideology and culture, with strong vitality.

Modern science came into being, which promoted the progress of human science and civilization.

5. European Enlightenment

(1) The nature of the Enlightenment: The Enlightenment was the second ideological emancipation in Europe after the Renaissance.

Movement is essentially a strategy for the bourgeoisie to seize political power from the feudal class and establish capitalist rule.

On peace and mental preparation. /kloc-The Enlightenment rose in Britain in the 0/7th century, and/kloc-France became the first country in the 0/8th century.

The center of the Enlightenment reached its climax in the 1960s.

(2) The main reasons for the emergence and development of the Enlightenment: ① The economic base is the capitalist industry and commerce in Europe.

The overall development of the continent. (2) The class foundation is the growth of bourgeois power. Feudal autocracy became capital.

The obstacles to the further development of the bourgeoisie, their urgent demand to change the rich and the powerless, are economically and politically hindered.

At present, in order to meet the arrival of the bourgeois revolution, they need new ideological and political theoretical weapons. ③ since

However, the development of science and technology has broken the theocracy and ignorance in people's hearts and promoted people's understanding.

Emancipating the mind and renewing ideas have enhanced people's confidence in realizing civilization and happiness on their own. ④ literature and art

On the one hand, revival and religious reform broke through the shackles of theology, liberated people's minds and laid the foundation for the Enlightenment.

Ideological basis; On the other hand, it cannot satisfy the bourgeoisie's opposition to feudal autocracy and the establishment of capitalism.

System, the need of developing capitalist economy. (5) The feudal autocratic system is decaying day by day, and the feudal rule is in full swing.

The crisis and the increasing corruption of the church have further intensified social contradictions.

(3) Features: Emphasize rational thinking, advocate using rational sunshine to dispel the darkness of reality, and criticize despots.

Righteousness and ecclesiasticism require the elimination of kingship, the establishment of aristocratic privileges and ranks, and the pursuit of political democracy and equal rights.

And established a set of political ideas for capitalist society.

(4) Main theories: separation of powers, natural human rights, social contract and people's sovereignty.

(5) Impact: Fully prepared for the upcoming French Revolution; Research on Enlightenment Thought

The spread of this theory in Europe and America promoted the bourgeois revolution in Europe and America; Inspired people with lofty ideals in Asia.

Fight for the transformation of the old society.

(6) The connection and difference between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

Differences: ① The Renaissance was originally developed in the embryonic period of capitalism, and the feudal church theology ruled the people.

People's background, so they mainly oppose religious theology and pursue secular happiness.

(2) The Enlightenment was the further development of capitalism, and the reform of feudal monarchy in European countries strengthened despots.

Against the background of righteousness, we oppose feudal absolutism and pursue freedom and equality.

Connection: Both of them are bourgeois ideological emancipation movements, and both have made political and economic gains for the bourgeoisie.

Economic leadership has made ideological preparations.