Grand Secretary and the ministries of six

Government institutions in China were consistent with a similar pattern of about two thousand years, but each dynasty set up special offices and offices, reflecting their own interests. The Ming government had the Grand Secretaries to assist the emperor with the documentation to them and finally reign underYongle appointed officials of agencies and Grand Preceptor, a senior, non-functional as a public official under Emperor.

The Secretariat drew his Great Hanlin Academy members, and is considered part of the imperial authority, not ministerial. The Secretariat is a coordinating body, while the six ministries, which were personal income, Rites, War, Justice, and Public Works, were direct state administrative organs.

The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for appointments, merit ratings, promotions and demotions of officials, and the granting of honorary degrees. The Ministry of Finance was in charge of collecting census data, tax collection and management of state revenues, while there are two exchange bureaux that were subordinate to him.

The Ministry of Rites was in charge of state ceremonies, rituals and sacrifices, but also oversaw the records for the Buddhist and Taoist priests and to the reception of ambassadors from tributary states.

The War Office was in charge of appointments, promotions, demotions and military officers, the maintenance of military facilities, equipment and weapons as well as the courier system. The Ministry of Justice was in charge of the processes judicial and penal, but had no supervisory function over the Censorate or the Grand Court of Revision.

The Ministry of Development was in charge of government construction projects, hiring artisans and workers of temporary services, government equipment manufacture, maintenance of roads and canals, the standardization of weights and measures, and recruitment resource field. 

The Merchant Of Venice

In the 14th century, the city of Venice in Italy was one of the richest in all over the world. Among the wealthiest of its merchants was Antonio. He was a kind and generous person. Bassanio, a young Venetian, of noble rank but having squandered his estate, wishes to travel to Belmont to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia. He approaches his friend Antonio, who has previously and frequently bailed him out, for three thousand ducats needed to subsidies his travelling expenditures as a suitor for three months.

Antonio agrees, but he is cash-poor; his ships and merchandise are busy at sea. He promises to cover a bond if Bassanio can find a lender, so Bassanio turns to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as the loan’s guarantor.

Shylock hates Antonio because of his anti-Semitism, shown when he insulted and spat on Shylock for being a Jew. Additionally, Antonio undermines Shylock's money lending business by lending money at zero interest. Shylock proposes a condition for the loan: if Antonio is unable to repay it at the specified date, he may take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Bassanio does not want Antonio to accept such a risky condition; Antonio is surprised by what he sees as the moneylender's generosity, and he signs the contract. With money at hand, Bassanio leaves for Belmont with his friend Gratian, who has asked to accompany him. Gratiano is a likeable young man, but is often flippant, overly talkative, and tactless. Bassanio warns his companion to exercise self-control, and the two leave for Belmont and Portia.

Meanwhile in Belmont, Portia is awash with suitors. Her father has left a will stipulating each of her suitors must choose correctly from one of three caskets – one each of gold, silver, and lead. If he chooses the right casket, he gets Portia; if he loses, he must go away and never trouble her or any other woman again with a proposal of marriage.

About Jan Kobell

History:

Jan Kobell was a Dutch animal and landscape painter.

Biography:

He was a pupil of Willem Rutgaart van der Wall at Utrecht. He studied thoroughly from nature, and took Paul Potter for his model, acquiring his talent for animal as well as landscape work. In 1812 he went to Paris, where he won the gold medal and high praise from art critics. His popularity increased rapidly until his early death. Of his cattle pieces, noted for their technique and accuracy of drawing, there are excellent specimens in the museums of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Family:

Jan Kobell was the son of Hendrik Kobell. He is often called Jan Kobell II to distinguish him from his uncle, or Jan Kobell the elder to distinguish him from his cousin. The Uncle Jan Kobell engraved anatomical plates, and his only well-known work was a series of historical portraits (1787). The cousin Jan Kobell was a landscape and cattle painter. He was the son of Jan the engraver uncle. He attended Rotterdam Academy, and painted his principal work, a life-size cattle piece, in 1830. Anna (1795-1847), sister of Jan the younger, was also a noted artist.

Landscap's English Art

In the popular imagination English landscape painting from the 18th century onwards typifies English art, inspired largely from the love of the pastoral and mirroring as it does the development of larger country houses set in a pastoral rural landscape. It was developed initially by Dutch and Flemish artists, from the late 17th century onwards.

As the population of England grew during the industrial revolution, a concern for privacy and smaller gardens becomes more notable in English art. There was also a new found appreciation of the open landscapes of romantic wilderness, and a concern for the ancient folk arts. 

William Morris is particularly associated with this latter trend, as were the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Another important influence, from about 1890 until 1926, was the growing knowledge about the visual art of Japan.

Being a coastal and sea-faring island nation, English art has often portrayed the coast and the sea. Being a nation of four distinct seasons, and changeable weather, weather effects have often been portrayed in English art. Weather and light effects on the English landscape have been a pre-eminent aspect of modern British landscape photography.