Unprecedented and Unrepeatable 空前绝后

王静云

“空前绝后”出自《宣和画谱》：顾冠于前，张绝于后，而道子乃兼有之。成语指从前没有过，今后也不会有，多用来形容非凡的成就或盛况。

Gu Kaizhi of the Jin Dynastywas talented and knowledgeable.His painting ability was even moreoutstanding. When he paintedfigures， he never drew eyes first.Someone asked the reason， he saidthat the 1）expressiveness of thecharacters is in this place.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties， another great painternamed Zhang Sengyao rose. He was good at drawing figure stories andreligious paintings， and he was very famous at that time. It is said thathe once painted four dragons on the wall of a temple， but did not paintdragonseyes. When someone asked him why he didnt draw eyes， he said，“Im afraid that if I draw eyes， these dragons will break through the wall andfly away.” Although this legend is very much 2）exaggerated， it reveals that hispainting skills are 3）superb.

Therefore， when someone commented on these two painters later， theybelieved that Gu Kaizhis painting achievements 4）surpassed those of hispredecessors， Zhang Sengyaos painting achievements were unmatched bylater generations.

1） expressiveness n. 善于表現；表现力

2） exaggerated adj. 夸张的

3） superb adj. 极佳的；卓越的

4） surpass v. 超过；胜过

东晋顾恺之，才华出众，学识渊博。他的绘画才能更是出色。他画人物，从来不先点眼珠。有人问其原因，他说：“人物传神之处，正在这个地方。”

南北朝的画家张僧繇，善人物故事画和宗教画，在当时名气很响。据说，有一次他在一座寺庙的墙上画了四条龙，却没有给龙点眼珠。旁人问他为什么不点上眼珠，他说：“恐怕点了眼珠，这些龙会破壁飞去。”这一传说虽夸张得近于荒诞，但说明了他作画的技艺很高超。

所以，后人评价这两位画家时，认为顾恺之的绘画成就超越前人，张僧繇的绘画成就后人莫及。

Fill in the blanks：

When Gu Kaizhi painted figures， he never drew _____ first.

Know More

Wu Daozi， a master of painting and calligraphy， is also known as the paintingsage. The paintings of Wu Daozi absorbed the strengths of Gu Kaizhi and ZhangSengyao.

吴道子，集绘画、书法大成于一身，被奉为“画圣”。吴道子的绘画兼有顾恺之和张僧繇的长处。

参考答案：eyes