Original Masterpiece Research Articles

Semantic and sentiment trajectories of literary masterpieces

The paper deals with semantic and sentiment trajectories of literary masterpieces (we used corpora of 12 languages of various language families), composed of individual embeddings or n-grams. We ascertain that, for all languages, semantic and sentiment trajectories are markedly chaotic: positive largest Lyapunov exponents; ‘entropy-complexity’ pairs belonging to the ‘chaotic’ area of the respective plane; the distinctive ‘chaotic’ drop of the number of false nearest neighbours at a particular value of an embedding dimension. The Russian language turns out to be more ‘chaotic’ than, for example, the English one; we attribute this fact to the free order of words. The Esperanto language, for various ‘approaches’ to different Indo-European languages. The results do not corroborate its claim to be equidistant from all languages. However, it seems to be equidistant from all Indo-European languages. These characteristics are utilised in order to develop a method to compare styles of an original masterpiece and its translations (to automatically assess translation quality). It appears that machine translations are still worse than human ones, however, for example, the Facebook translation is comparable with them.

Survey on the adaptation of The Three Kingdoms into Cai Luong – Vietnamese reformed theater style

Studying the process of adapting the masterpiece The Three Kingdoms into Cai Luong – Vietnamese reformed theatre, we can see that this adaptation process of The Three Kingdoms fictions is quite suitable for the tastes of the public in terms of art. In particular, it has a great attraction to the composers, urging them to create and transform it into reformed theater style. When researching this issue, the article considers them as a cultural product that is influenced by many different objective and subjective factors such as historical and cultural beliefs and intrinsic values of the original masterpiece itself. At the same time, the article provides a list of a number of reformed dramas from The Three Kingdoms fictions in Vietnam from the 1920s to the present. At the same time, the writer has conducted a preliminary analysis on the process of adapting The Three Kingdoms fictions into Cai Luong – a Vietnamese reformed theater style. This helps the receiver to generally visualize the nation's ceaseless creativity in the works that transform literature masterpieces into Vietnamese reformed theater style, including The Three Kingdoms in a systematic way. This transformation also shows the strong vitality of The Three Kingdoms in Vietnam.

Noise Reduction for Digital Communications—The Masterpiece, a Modified Costas Loop

An efficient way of noise reduction has been presented: A modified Costas loop called as Masterpiece. The basic version of the Costas loop has been developed for SSB SC demodulation, but the same circuit can be applied for QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) demodulation as well. Noise sensitivity of the basic version has been decreased. One trick is the transformation of the real channel input into complex signal, the other one is the application of our folding algorithm. The result is that the Masterpiece provides a 4QAM symbol error rate (SER) of 6 × 10−4 for input signal to noise ratio (SNR) of −1 dB. In this paper, an improved version of the original Masterpiece is introduced. The complex channel input signal is normalized, and rotational average is applied. The 4QAM result is SER of 3 × 10−4 for SNR of −1 dB. At SNR of 0 dB, the improved version produces 100 times better SER than that the original Costas loop does. In our times, this topic has a special importance because by application of our Masterpiece, all dangerous field strengths from 5G and WiFi, could be decreased by orders of magnitude. The Masterpiece can break the Shannon formula.

Noise reduction for digital communications – A modified Costas loop

An efficient way of noise reduction has been presented: A modified Costas loop called as Masterpiece. The basic version of the Costas loop has been developed for SSB SC demodulation, but the same circuit can be applied for QAM demodulation as well. Noise sensitivity of the basic version has been decreased. One trick is the transformation of the real channel input into complex signal, the other one is the application of our folding algorithm. The result is that the Masterpiece provides a 4QAM symbol error rate (SER) of 6*10-4 for input signal to noise ratio (SNR) of -1 dB. In this paper, an improved version of the original Masterpiece is introduced. The complex channel input signal is normalized, and rotational average is applied. The 4QAM result is SER of 3*10-4 for SNR of -1 dB. At SNR of 0 dB, the improved version produces 100 times better SER than that the original Costas loop does.

Old or new art? Rethinking classical Chinese animation

ABSTRACTFrom the 1950s to the 1980s, a large number of outstanding animations produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio gained high international reputation on the basis of their unique Chinese style and oriental aesthetics, and are usually referred to as ‘classical Chinese animation’. Although many scholars highly appreciate its national and traditional style, and believe that it was the most important factor that contributed to the success, I would argue that this style also potentially limited the independence and originality of Chinese animation. In this essay, I will rethink classical Chinese animation through an analysis of the intimate relationship between Chinese animation and Chinese literacy classics, classical painting and traditional opera, with the aim to demonstrate that, in spite of its international reputation, classical Chinese animation also was negatively influenced by those prestigious art forms. Faithfully appropriating classical literature limits the ability of Chinese animation to freely explore the modern themes and narratives, and prioritizing the techniques and conventions of traditional Chinese painting and opera tied Chinese animation to the original masterpieces and potentially harmed its inherently cinematic nature. All of these factors would overshadow the destiny of classical Chinese animation and precipitated its foreseeable decline after the 1980s.

The Metaphor of Patina

Patina is the word used for the green or brown film formed on the surface of old bronze, an excess of which can mask the true characteristics of the original masterpiece. Filippo Baldinucci used the word patina in a modern sense for first time in his book “Tuscan Vocabulary of the Art of Design”. Metaphors have been part of philosophical speech since the time of Plato. This figure of speech is used to attempt to provide a sensitive presence of an idea to improve understanding and to make a more vivid perception of that concept. On analysing the creative process of contemporary research on health topics and its further dissemination, we defend the epistemological thesis that there is always some degree of patina on an original article and this may obscure the underlying scientific work. Conclusion: We consider that patina in scientific papers is very different from the concept of epidemiological bias. We think that any researcher who reads an original article acts as a restorer of knowledge. If a reader is aware of the existence of scientific patina, that reader will know how to look through it and see the masterpiece hidden underneath.

Audubon's aviary: the original watercolors for The birds of America

A national treasure is celebrated in this landmark publication. The Birds of America is a monumental classic, but it has never been explored like this before. This important new volume presents all the dazzling watercolors that Audubon painted for these monumental engravings. We are familiar with the prints engraved by Robert Havell Jr., but Audubon's Aviary illuminates the original masterpieces that were created by Audubon himself and tells the story behind their creation with fresh insights and engaging quotes from his writings. These powerful paintings--all newly photographed using state-of-the-art techniques--possess a startling immediacy, vibrancy, and fluidity that link natural history, art, and a respect for the environment. These watercolors transmit Audubon's devotion to his craft with their inscriptions and layers of media wrought with a miniaturist's attention to detail and their revolutionary compositions, which for the first time in history depicted all the birds life-size. Audubon is considered America's first great watercolorist, introducing innovative approaches developed over a lifetime of study. Even judged alongside today's technology, his dramatic tableaux remain some of the most spectacular natural history documents and visually arresting works of art ever produced.

Foxing the child: the cultural transmission of pedagogical norms and values in Dutch rewritings of literary classics for children 1850–1950

This article examines the reciprocity between children’s literature and educational ideals in Dutch rewritings of international literary classics published for children between 1850 and 1950. It analyses the assumed pedagogical power of rewritings of international literary classics for children from the perspective of three theoretical concepts: (1) cultural transmission as a strategy of educational ambition in its capacity to serve social initiation, (2) adaptation as a transformation strategy to adjust an artefact to a specific audience, and (3) gate keepership as the determining factor in the communication situation of literature for children. Comparing original masterpieces that were originally not, or not specifically, meant for children with their derivatives sheds light on the strategies that were used to mould narratives into pedagogical examples. It shows how protagonists were educated along the lines of the ever-changing pedagogical discourse brought about by historically variable concepts of childhood and displays the transition of the educational value of subjection to external mastery to the ideal of self-mastery of the child. Moreover, it shows how rewritings not only functioned as agents in the transmission of literary artefacts, but by means of that, also provided for the transmission of culture.

External PIXE analysis of an Iranian 15th century poetry book

The paints of illumination, ink and paper of an Iranian poetry manuscript originally belonging to 15th century but partly restored about 300 years ago are characterized by external PIXE. The technique was employed to determine the elemental composition of different inks and paints applied in the text and illumination as well as the paper of both the original masterpiece and the restored parts in order to evaluate the quality of restoration processes. The X-ray spectra were collected by a Si(Li) X-ray detector placed at a scattering angle of 135° while the beam charge was indirectly measured through the Ar K α X-ray yield originated from the irradiation of in-air Argon. By analysis of the collected PIXE spectra, concentration of different elements present in closely matched colored areas in the original and restored illuminations were compared. In the same way, the origin of colored pigments and black ink in the original and restored illuminations and texts are inferred.

Spectroscopic investigation of yellow majolica glazes

AbstractThe yellow decorations of some ceramic art objects were examined through different spectroscopic techniques and optical and electronic microscopy. The yellow pigment was identified as lead antimonate, the well‐known Naples Yellow. Its use in the course of history seems to be strongly discontinuous, but the diagnostic techniques used to date may not have been adequate. Samples from original masterpieces have been compared with a yellow pigment synthesized in our laboratory, following a Renaissance ancient recipe for Naples Yellow. Concordant results were obtained with Fourier transform IR and UV–visible reflectance spectroscopy, Raman microscopy, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It is demonstrated that the micro‐Raman technique is very effective for the unambiguous identification of the pigment and its firing temperature. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Designer blood vessels and therapeutic revascularization.

Inadequate vascular perfusion leads to fatal heart attacks, chronic ulcers, and other serious clinical conditions. The body's capacity to restore vascular perfusion through angiogenesis and arteriogenesis is often impaired by pre-existing disease, and availability of native replacements for nonfunctional arteries is limited in many patients. Thus, recreating blood vessels of various calibres through novel engineering technologies has emerged as a radical option among therapeutic strategies for revascularization. Ranging from artificial, recycled or reassembled natural conduits to sophisticated microdevices, we refer to these as 'designer blood vessels'. Our common efforts to continuously improve vascular replacement design have provided many clues about our own blood vessels, but nature's ability to create nonthrombogenic, immunocompatible, strong, yet biologically responsive blood vessels remains unparalleled. Just as art reproductions never equal the original masterpiece, designer blood vessels may never attain nature's perfection. Nevertheless, they will provide a valuable option as long as they come close enough and are available to many.

CT analysis of bowed stringed instruments.

To determine the utility of computed tomography (CT) for the noninvasive evaluation of bowed stringed instruments. Thirty-seven instruments that ranged in quality from student instruments to exquisite Stradivarius violins were analyzed with CT. Accuracy of thickness measurements was determined from 24 measurements of cross-sectional pieces sawed from a student violin. Accuracy of density measurements was determined from 328 CT attenuation measurements of 16 woods used in stringed instruments. Substantial differences of normal structure were noted between the masterpieces crafted in Cremona, Italy, and factory-produced student instruments. Unexpected defects were detected in nine of 14 instruments older than 100 years and ranged from a few wormholes (eight instruments) to many wormholes and extensive repair (one violin). CT thickness and attenuation measurements correlated well to the line of identity with actual measurements (P < .0001). Two cellos and a viola have been constructed from CT-derived information. The viola was awarded a gold medal at a recent international competition. CT provides the modern luthier and acoustic scientist with a unique tool for characterization of normal structure, defects, and repair and for accurate measurements of wood thickness and density. CT-derived information aids in the replication of original masterpieces. CT evaluation may have an important role in the valuation, insurance, and identification of valuable stringed instruments.

Deaf Mute

DEAF MUTE / Nelson I. Wu Engüsh version in coUaboration with Jan Garden Castro —Later, he stopped painting. His health improved. HE FELT AS IF he had cleaned his eyeglasses after working behind a dirtied pair aU his Ufe. Now everything looked sharper. He was about to finish copying Fan Kuan's painting "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams." He had lost count of the number of times he had copied this, the greatest painting of the Northern Sung Dynasty. As a humble student, aU he had as a model was a caUotype glass plate reproduction. After he had mastered the meaning and spirit of the composition and its elements, someone made him a gift of a set of photographic enlargements of the detaUs. Confronting the photographs, not only did the details of his own painting look sharper to him, but the components were also more cohesive and majestic than ever. At sixty years of age, he first viewed the original painting "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams" at the Palace Museum in Taiwan. By this time, he was known as a painter not only of landscapes but also of flowers, birds, animals, and figures. He painted everything in a traditional way, including Yen WenKuei 's hanging scroUs Buildings and Temples by the River. However, he rarely copied the scroU by Wang Chen-Peng, The Dragon Boat Race at Pao-Ching, for its encyclopedic, mechanical details did not sustain his interest. During his study of other works, he found his observation skiUs sharpened further due to his study of the great one. In return, these varied studies enriched his understanding of the temple architecture and other detaUs in "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams." Now, standing in front of Fan Kuan's famous painting, his eyes touched every detaU from corner to corner as if caressing it. At the same time, his painting hand moved incessantly in front of his chest, applying gentle or heavier strokes with an imaginary brush. AU of the organs in his body moved in harmony with his hand. He often stood at the Museum painting in the air. He had completely absorbed the scroU as an entity, starting with the colophon above the painting by Tun Ch'i'ch'ang. The Missouri Review · 45 People gave his copies the highest traditional compliment: they were so good they could have been from the hands of ancient masters. He reaUzed, however, that his work lacked his own individuaUty. So he experimented with different brushwork and different interpretations to test his understanding of the masterpiece —as though discussing an idea with an invisible visitor. None of his friends could talk with him on this level. To finish an interpretation in an hour, he used only a watery brush and fast movements. Switching to another approach, he could spend two to three months completing a study of the same painting. His friends always praised each study. Yet in his heart, instead of satisfaction, he sensed a great distress bordering on fear. His goal was no longer so attractive to him, and he began to suspect that his real goal was still hidden inside him. During this period, he lost so much weight that his bones began to show. These days, he painted from memory. His new compositions unified his concepts beyond their details. He would work with his eyes closed. This time, he began a perfectly detailed copy with the exact measurements of the original. (To avoid confusion with the original, he had taken the precaution of varying the dimensions of all other copies.) Now the only precaution he took was using paper instead of the silk on which the original masterpiece was painted. This would be his consummate achievement. Yet he also knew that he could never claim it as his own creation. Dusk feU as he was having these thoughts. He put the justdeUvered evening paper on the table. The poor quaUty newsprint was nearly impossible to read but was absorbent and good for drying his brushes. As he often did, he tore it automaticaUy into square pieces for that purpose. Caring Uttle about his finished work, he reached for a huge brush, loaded it with light brown, and proceeded...

Proust and Modern Brazilian Writers

AM ONG THE FERTILE ELEMENTS of the literary climate which fostered northeastern Brazil's poetry and fiction of the 1930's was the work of Marcel Proust. His writings stimulated the creative process of the poet Jorge de Lima (1893-1953) and the novelist Jos6 Lins do Rego (1901-57), providing them with a point of departure for their own original masterpieces. Proust first became known through fortuitous circumstances in Macei6, Alagoas, years before the leading modernist poet in Rio, Manuel Bandeira, confessed in 1930 that he had not yet had time to bite into Proust, whose writings he found monstrously dull.' Tadeu Rocha relates in some detail how Jorge de Lima became acquainted in the mid-twenties with Henri Rochat, a Swiss immigrant in Recife. It was through Rochat, a friend of Proust's family, that Jorge de Lima sent for and obtained the complete edition of A la recherche du temps perdu.2 Up to that time, Jorge de Lima had been a Parnassian poet, known affectionately to his contemporaries as the Prince of Alagoan poets. In 1927 he published his first poem in free verse, 0 mundo do menino impossivel,3 plainly discarding the Parnassian mold and proclaiming his adherence to Brazilian modernism. This poem contains images reminiscent of those in Proust's novel.