Beijing Opera Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Beijing Opera - Essay Example This traditional Chinese theatre differs from opera, pantomime, and drama and puts more emphasis to 'Chang (Singing)', 'Nian (Speaking)', 'Zuo (Acting), and 'Da (Fighting)'. The Beijing Opera originated from the middle period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and entails four performances that include Anhui – Sanqing Troupe, Sixi Troupe, Chungong Troupe, and Chun Troupe that reside in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai China1. Indeed, there were many names for Beijing Opera in its history such as Pihuang, Erhuang, Huang Qiang, Peking Opera, Pingju Opera, and Chinese Opera. However, Peking Opera that was born when the 'Four Great Anhui Troupes' brought Anhui opera supersedes the rest. Beijing Opera manifests itself as one of the cultural treasures of China. Although formed in Beijing, Beijing Opera is not the native-born but a melting opera. In the Beijing Opera, singing has the certain tune that expresses the sentiment of the dramatic persona. Taiwan preserves the art form known as Guoju though it has spread to Japan and the United States. Beijing Opera is the essence of Chinese national drama and has tremendous influence in both China and abroad. According to Beijing Opera, acting is the performance of movement and expression while fighting is the martial arts performed by dancing. At the same time, Beijing Opera appreciates the pleasing stylistic and artistic harmony of the dance and music, and art designs. Beijing Opera has very strict role division that includes Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou. 'Sheng' acts the masculine positive role, ‘Dan’ acts the feminine positive role, and ‘Jing’ acts the supporting role of greathearted masculine, while 'Chou' acts as a lively, humorous, quick-witted masculine. Each kind of role also has different face painting and dressing to indicate their identity. More significantly, the Beijing Opera relates to the political and military struggle and has a historical theme. Beijing Opera truly represent China culture because it keeps together the diverse elements of history, mythology, literature and poetry, singing, dancing, acting, face painting, stage fighting and acrobatics in Chinese culture2. However, during the second half of the 20th century, Beijing witnessed a steady decline in audience numbers due to a decrease in performance quality and an inability of the traditional opera form to capture modern life. In addition, the production requirements of the archaic language, and the influence of Western culture is not pleasant to the development of Beijing Opera3. In light of Beijing Opera, performance is an art topic that is very dominant in this Chinese traditional theatre. Beijing Opera performances are renowned for their very vibrant and gorgeous colored costumes. A Beijing Opera performance entails story, voice, music, movement, costumes, and makeup and stage properties4. Aria is the music for the voice of Beijing Opera belongs to the Ban-Qiang. Song music and speech in a Beiji ng performance occur simultaneously with dance movements of the performer. There are about three kinds of plays in Beijing Opera, which include the traditional play, the historical play, and the modern play. The different Beijing performance costumes are fundamental in the Beijing Opera performance. The Beijing opera costumes were mainly made of wool or coarse cloth and decorated with various meticulously embroidered patterns with special and unique stagecraft that draws a lot of admiration and love by the audience. Face painting manifest in Beijing Opera performances to display the character of the specific role and understanding of the opera’s plot5. Beijing Opera facial painting falls into four categories

Religion Experience Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Religion Experience - Research Paper Example It is important to note that Roman Catholic and some of its splinter affiliates has the majority believers population among the Christians and the world at large and this explains why this is a globally observed period with internationally recognized periods of Holiday (Catholic University of America,2002). It is important to understand the underlying concepts that constitute the entire season and the subsequent holidays which have a lot of meaning to the Christian faithful. East results from the lent season which constitutes 40 days after which the Pentecost season begins lasting 50 days. Due to its focus on this symbolic event in the life of Jesus from whom the Christian believers derive their spiritual identity, it remains the central point on which all other religious activities calendar is drawn. It is worth to note that the Easter season is dotted with many other special days before and after and one such a day is Ash Wednesday. This an exclusive day which marks the first day of Lent and falls within the months of February 14th and March 11th at an estimated six and half weeks prior to Easter. Archival records of the early Christianity indicate varied length of lent which was later fixed at 40 days from the 7th century. The lent period is set at 40 days which is consistent with the period Jesus took starving in the wilderness. In respect of that doctrine, believers are expected to go through a period of fasting and sacrificing much of their time praying and helping the needy in the society (Wilkinson & Charing, 2004). This solidifies the faith by an action slogan that is much talked about in the bible and other theological scholarly works. Abstinence from sexual intercourse from every believer is equally expected during this special season as it is generally dedicated to the service of God. The most common mark of celebrating this Ash Wednesday is the smearing of ash on the forehead of the participants as a symbol of penance and this is attached to blessings. It is worth to note that some aspects of this event have changed over time. This is in regard to the application of ash on the forehead exclusively on participants which has lately changed to a case where ash is given to the entire congregatio n during the service and all members in attendance are marked. The religious connotations that were directed towards this event have equally changed from the traditional likening of human being to dust and the new idea of preaching repentance (Catholic University of America, 2002). It is also important to notice that this ash is derived from the burnt palm fronds which previously had been used during the Palm Sunday. Within the larger concept of the Easter season, on-catholic churches like the Eastern Orthodox celebrate clean Monday which begins with the lent period and the only difference in the catholic version is skipping of Sunday with a claim that Jesus resurrected on Sunday. During the Easter season, Passion Sunday is also celebrated as a commemoration to the maiden entry of Jesus to Jerusalem before he was crucified some days later. The event actually proceeds through a procession of palm fronds which constitutes blessing and the same are later burnt to produce ash for the ne xt year’s Ash Wednesday. There are fifty days of Easter season between the end of lent and the Holy Saturday. It is important to note that Holy Saturday is very significant in respect to the celebration of the Easter holiday. This is the day when most Christians across the world begin to prepare for Easter services (Wilkinson & Charing, 2004). In the historic periods of the Christianity people engaged in an overnight fasting in preparation for baptismal of new

How far, and in what ways, do you agree that the story Essay Example for Free

How far, and in what ways, do you agree that the story Essay Hamlet is a revenge tragedy; a genre originally developed by plays such as The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd from 1585-1590. The genre is characterized by the inclusion of death, murder, betrayal, madness, poison, surveillance and the supernatural in the narrative themes that all frequently occur in Hamlet. However to what extent does the story of Polonius, Ophelia and Laertes conform to this idea of a revenge tragedy; and more broadly, how does the story of the family conform to the genre of tragedy as a whole? One issue is how to define a tragedy; Thomas Heywood wrote: Comedies begin in trouble and end in peace; tragedies begin in calm and end in tempest, Apology for Actors, 1612. By this definition, tragedy generally can be summarised as a sequence of events that lead to the destruction of the majority of its characters. In this sense, the story of Polonius and his family conforms to the basic skeleton of a tragedy by the end of the play Polonius, Laertes and Ophelia are dead. However the familys story does not conform as simply to other definitions of tragedy. [Tragedy] would look with a sceptical eye at what was happening in the world around, M. Mangan (1991). Tragedy would look with a sceptical eye implies that tragedy has the role of both viewing and criticising society. This concept can be applied to Polonius, a character remarkably similar to Queen Elizabeth Is spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham. Shakespeare spent the majority of his life under Elizabeths rule; hence the Elizabeths gentry may have aided Shakespeare in creating his constructs. Polonius is characterized by his long, rambling speeches, for example in Act 2 Scene 2; Either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastorical-comical, historical-pastoral, tragic-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral unlimited The absurd repetition of the words tragedy, comedy, history and pastoral emphasize the loquaciousness of Polonius, but is perhaps also mocking Sir Francis Walsingham. Shakespeare is crafting a stereotype that spymasters are loquacious, obsequious characters. Perhaps Shakespeare is criticising society; society does not require spymasters spawning insincerity and deceit. If so, Shakespeare is using satire as a tool to portray this viewpoint. Polonius may be used by Shakespeare as a means to act as such a sceptical eye on society, conforming to Mangans concept of the relevance of tragedy in real life. Aristotle was a key figure in defining tragedy, and stated in his Poetics that a typical tragedy consisted of a noble protagonist, with a hamartia (tragic flaw), whose peripeteia (reversal of fortune) is brought about by an anagnorisis (moment of recognition). However it would be unwise to assume that Aristotles Poetics, written in c. 335 BC would still be completely relevant to Shakespearean tragedy, written some two thousand years later. However several aspects of Aristotles tragedy can be applied to Polonius and his family. Polonius has his tragic flaw: his obsession with spying. He tells Reynaldo before departing to France to spy on Laertes: By indirections find directions out (Act 2 Scene 1) Not only does this indicate his unnatural interest in his sons affairs, so much that he is willing to send a spy to observe his sons possible hedonism in Paris; but it also shows that he is experienced as a spymaster. Such advice is most likely to be learned from several years of manipulating people to his advantage. Essentially what he is saying is the most direct method of finding the truth is through being indirect, which holds to be true as we see later in the play with Hamlets The Mousetrap; a play within a play which exposes Claudius villainy through indirect and subtle methods. Furthermore on the topic of hamartia Laertes has his tragic flaw of overreaction; a stark contrast to Hamlet whose tragic flaw is procrastination. When asked by Claudius what he will do when Hamlet returns to Denmark to avenge his father in Act 4 Scene VII, he replies To cut his throat i the church. This directly mirrors the church scene, where Claudius is vulnerable yet Hamlet refrains from acting out his revenge. This displays Laertes as a traditional revenger, willing to act, unlike Hamlet who considers the legitimacy of the ghosts claims before even considering revenge. Laertes does not take much persuading from Claudius. However it is this over-willingness to act that is the cause of his death. In his rage at the death of both his father and sister, he plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet; a move which kills him as he himself is poisoned by the sword intended for Hamlet. Over-willingness to act is Laertes hamartia; and so Laertes also conforms to this tragic skeleton laid out by Aristotle. However perhaps more tragic, although not conforming to Aristotles works, is the question; why is Laertes so willing to act? His father was voyeuristic, deceitful and loquacious he used Ophelia as a tool to gain favour with the king, and spied on Laertes to ensure his name was not tarnished. He was a far from noble man, his life summarised accurately by his death; behind an arras spying on someone. In this regard, it is questionable whether Laertes brashness in relation to revenge is justified. From the aspects of Polonius character seen in the play, it does not appear that he was a good father; in fact he seems villainous at times for example when he disallows Ophelia to express her love for Hamlet, then makes her feel to blame when Hamlet puts on his antic disposition. It is questionable whether Polonius deserves to be avenged. Hamlet seems to simply shrug off the murder of Polonius, noting of what the little worth he was when referring him simply as guts. This could be seen as tragic, as the worthlessness of Polonius character implies that Laertes died for nothing. One explanation is that Laertes may have been inclined to act out revenge with such little persuasion due to the fact Polonius was all he and his sister had. Since Hamlet put on his antic disposition, Ophelia lacked a love interest, as did Laertes assuming he did not have a lover in Paris; moreover they were not allowed to have a love interest due to Polonius caring too much about his image than the wishes of his children. With no love interests, and apparently no motherly figure, they were left with no figure of authority but Polonius, which may be the cause for Laertes brash attitudes towards revenge. Also likely is the concept of family honour driving Laertes revenge, a concept which an Elizabethan audience may have empathised with. The death of Ophelia in a modern day sense is considered tragic, like any suspected suicide. However during Elizabethan times her death would be considered on a more religious basis; the priest comments on the questionable nature of her death, and whether it would warrant a Christian burial. This is an example of how the definition of tragedy shifts over time; even Laertes does not seem as shaken by the announcement of his sisters death compared to his fathers, perhaps due to the nature of her death. Ophelias death is considered a tragedy in a modern day sense, but at the time her death not so much tragic, but rather symbolised the death of innocence in the play, as part of the build up to the climatic deaths in the final act. However, Ophelias death is an example of how Hamlet is able to transcend traditional ideas on tragedy, and can hold relevance to modern day interpretations of what is considered tragic. In the 21st century, a tragic event is where an individual or group suffers to a greater extent than they are perceived to deserve. It could be argued that however you spin the story of Polonius and his family, they will always conform to this modern interpretation of tragedy, as well as the traditional tragedy theorised by Aristotle. Ophelia is being perpetually commanded and ordered throughout the play by the significant characters in her life; first Laertes, when he displays his disapproval of her intimacy with Hamlet, and Polonius when he conducts his own play within a play, ordering her to talk to Hamlet while he observes behind an arras. She has little to no freedom, despite the fact she has done nothing wrong; unlike her brother who had enjoyed the primrose path of dalliance while in Paris, and the voyeuristic indulgence of Polonius. The death of Ophelia to a modern audience is tragic, so in this sense the story of Polonius and his family is a tragedy. I agree that the story of Polonius and his family should be considered a tragedy within a tragedy. Their story contains many of the frequently occurring aspects of a tragedy; death, love, murder, revenge and surveillance. As well as this, the family conforms to the concept of a tragedy as laid out by Aristotle. Finally, the story of Polonius and his family conforms to what is considered tragic in the present, as the tragedy has transcended the period in which the play was written. References Primary Text Shakespeare, W (~1600) Hamlet London: Penguin (2005) Secondary Texts Aristotle (350 BC) Poetics London: Penguin (1997) Heywood, T (1612) An Apology for Actors New York: Scholars Facsimiles Reprints (1999) Mangan, M (1991) A Preface to Shakespeares Tragedies London: Longman.

Homers Odyssey Essay -- Homer Odyssey Odysseus Temptation

Homer's Odyssey On a ten-year voyage across cold and choppy seas with nothing but the bitter wind at one’s back, physical strength is a necessity. The chances of successfully trekking home with weak limbs are not great. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is the epitome of power. His brawny physique undoubtedly grants him the strength to swim, climb, run and even kill his way back to his wife. But Odysseus cannot return home on physical force alone, as many of the obstacles he faces are mental. Perhaps the greatest of these obstacles is temptation. The "battle-weary" man’s odyssey is brimming with temptations of the mind, body and soul that he must not only grow out of, but conquer, in order to return home and stake his glory. The first blatant example of temptation in Odysseus’ journey happens on the island of the Lotus-eaters. The delicious but devious fruit of the lotus, he and his men discover, has the power to muddle one’s memory so that he forgets about home. While some of the men succumb to the fruit, Odysseus demonstrates remarkable self-control. This is in stark contrast to the way he handles himself in other tempting situations along the voyage. In this scene, though, Odysseus does not forget his longing for home and that is why his reaction to this temptation is interesting. It immediately shows us that he does possess self-control and has a goal he is eager to reach. It suggests that the willpower he lacks later in the poem is, in fact, always inside of him. It is not something he needs to learn, but something he needs to improve upon and make a permanent part of his identity instead of a fleeting one. This scene proves that Odysseus has the power to be confronted by something all uring and not be taken in by it. Nonp... ...e voyage, the cunning fighter is not hasty at the end of the poem. Disguised as an old beggar, he could have revealed his true identity much earlier than he does. Instead, he waits for the right moment to strike. The suitors test his patience and perhaps his temper seethes within, but he does not make his fury known until the perfect moment. When the time comes to strike, he combines the cunning he has had all along with a newfound sense of control. The belief that what does not kill someone can only make them stronger is especially true in Odysseus’ case. His journey is peppered with temptations that collectively build up his will. Some of them temporarily distract him, while others are meant to seal his doom. And even though he falls down, makes mistakes, and tests the limits along the way, his courage and his yearning for home lead to his ultimate enlightenment.

Letter Form a Birmingham Jail Mlk

Oppressed feelings: No longer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was incarcerated after fighting for his rights in a nonviolent peaceful protest to fight, exercising the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, and the Freedom of speech; an automatic given for those who do not consist of colored skin. In response, Dr. King wrote a powerful letter to the â€Å"genuine† clergymen announcing his strong opinions and beliefs toward segregation, discrimination, and racism. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. executed such an overwhelming piece of writing expressing the poor treatment of African Americans, the explanations of his actions, and his opinions regarding a true and better government. He expressed his desire and faith for the greater good and change in this letter with the use of emotional appeals such as imagery, diction, and descriptions of his harsh personal experiences regarding segregation and discrimination because of his skin color.Paragraphs 14 and 15 consists of emotional twists from unjust laws and release a combination of emotional and harsh events from the African American’s reality that bring the reader into their perspective from a hated level. In these paragraphs, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gets more personal and specific about the harsh treatment of African Americans and personal experiences regarding their harsh reality. Imagery shows all throughout this paragraph to create powerful and tear quenching emotions from the reader to get you to at least slightly understand their perspective.Dr. King immensely expresses what not only he, but all African Americans are and have been going through. He is able to paint a picture in the readers’ head of the abuse, pain, and hatred they have felt. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society†¦(218).All I see is hate filled police and Caucasian’s with disgust in their face causing undeserving pain to people that only have one difference: their skin color. Although I was not there to personally experience this torment, Dr. King is able to withdraw my emotions with just the truth, and put me on his side. His picture withdrew disgust and angriness for what our society is and how human beings can be. That little piece of the actual paragraph is just a glimpse. Dr. King goes on and on about their mistreatment.They are not just pained physically, but they are also haunted emotionally and mentally as well, â€Å"When you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living in constantly tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a de generating sense of â€Å"nobodiness†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (218). Personally, feeling alone and insignificant is one of my worst fears about life, and Dr. King along with â€Å"twenty million† others suffered from this feeling for centuries.Imagery was able to capture my full attention in this paragraph, allowed me to see a glimpse of their pain, suffering, and mistreatment. With the powerful impact of imagery in these paragraphs, it certainly wasn’t the only strategy he used. Diction was an immeasurable aspect of this paragraph. The structure of Dr. King’s vocabulary was eloquent and delivered in such a structured, skillful manner that he was able to draw tear-filled emotions to his audience. He used words such as ‘curse’, ‘kick’, ‘lynch’, ‘kill’, ‘smothering’, ‘humiliated’, and ‘despair’.These words are able to describe to the reader of the completely atrocious way peopl e treated each other because of such an insignificant matter, the difference in skin color. Just reading these chosen words and how well it played with imagery, I winced. Using diction is shown to be powerful in this case because if Dr. King were to have only said, ‘mistreatment’, ‘abuse’, or ‘discriminated’, it would not have withdrawn as much emotion from his audience at the time and the readers now.His in detail descriptions of his barbaric treatment and personal experiences is the most influential and compelling strategy in paragraph 14 and 15. The disturbing events that occurred in that time period showed how cruel mankind to be. Dr. King shares experiences such as explaining to his children their harsh realities at that moment in time: When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her yes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky†¦When you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: ‘Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean? (218). Children are thought to be so innocent, pure from hatred, and chance giving and then when their little hearts are corrupted to think they are less than someone else, and they feel like they are in a world full of hurt, what are they to do then?Dr. King also shares his bleak experiences of witnessing that hatred be performed with murder and being denied what is thought of as automatic rights. These personal experiences not only keep your nose to the paper, but it is appalling to know the easy capabilities we hold as human beings to torment others for little things not only mentally, but physically, to the point of taking their lives completely aw ay from them.These lives taken lived a life where they were beaten and never shown the feeling of whole freedom and life without hypothetical chains. Dr. King was able to use these experiences to squeeze emotions out of his audience. They not only described their cold facts, but it brought me to his level of understanding and on his side. Dr. King did more than just simply explain their experience. Dr.King described that they have been waiting â€Å"for more than 340 years for† their â€Å"constitutional and God given rights† and watching other nations such as â€Å"Asia† and â€Å"Africa† move â€Å"with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence†, but how the United States was still creeping â€Å"at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter† (217). He talked about how it was appalling for someone who never had to watch â€Å"vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters a nd brothers at whim† (218) to say, â€Å"Wait. That with everything they have been through, they cannot and will not endure it any longer. He strongly felt that this could happen no longer, and that if it took â€Å"disobey[ing] unjust laws† (218) then he would. These paragraphs proved to be a monumental breakthrough for this letter. He described how he wasn’t going to take it any longer. After a lifetime of witnessing hate, ignorance, and abuse, personally being discriminated and segregated against for his skin color, and being thrown in jail for peacefully protesting, exercising the first mendment, he was still standing strong in his beliefs, not backing down. He was able to persevere through so much, and he wasn’t going to stop until his point was being made and change was happening. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was able to execute these immaculate paragraphs through emotional appeals (diction, imagery, and personal experiences) to minimally just slightl y understand what he has been through, and that he will not back down or tolerate it any longer.His cruel reality was not the only thing to breakthrough his audiences’ exterior but his strong will and genuine personality was able to make a huge impact. Through everything, and only being shown hate and violence, he retaliated with calmness, peaceful protests, and nonviolent maneuvers. This was more than the rest of the human race was able to do. After that, Dr. Martin Luther King deserves all the respect in the world.

Grades as a Source of Stress

Grades as a Source of Stress To my mind, grades are one of the realities that make students feel miserable and confused. Moreover, they aren’t always fair and can completely eradicate the desire to study in a diligent manner. If another person, who is not as assiduous as you are, still gets the same grades – why bother and spend sleepless nights hammering at books? And all of this is solely due to grades and their effect. To my mind, the main aim of education is not to collect the best and the highest grades, but to gain knowledge that is necessary for future life and success. But not everyone understands it. A lot of students think that if they direct all their efforts towards getting high grades, they will succeed. But they are wrong. In order to be prepared for the adult life, you have to develop many various skills, which is not possible is everything the student does is reading books on his own. Grades were introduced as a way of control and motivation for students, but instead became a source of students’ understanding of what injustice means and that often you can’t do anything with it. To my mind, it is not the best way to show it and definitely not the way to motivate students to studying. The main thing that should be done is changing some students’ perception of the grades’ essence. They have to understand that high grades do not guarantee the best result in career and personal life and have to understand that a lot of other spheres of life also call for their attention. In my opinion, the best way out is introduction of the other system of motivation and elimination of such unfair reality as grades.

Five Longest Mountain Ranges in Europe

Europe is one of the smallest continents, yet is home to some of the largest mountain ranges. About 20% of the total landmass of the continent is considered mountainous, slightly less than the 24% of the total world landmass that is covered by mountains. The mountains of Europe have been home to some of the most daring feats in history, used by explorers and warlords alike. The ability to safely  navigate these mountain ranges helped shape the world as its now known through trade routes and military achievements. Today these mountain  ranges are mostly used for skiing or marveling at their wondrous views. Five Longest Mountain Ranges in Europe Scandinavian Mountains: 1,762 kilometers (1,095 miles) Also known as the Scandes, this mountain range stretches through the Scandinavian Peninsula. They are the longest mountain range in Europe. The mountains arent considered  very high but theyre known for their steepness. The western side drops into the North and Norwegian sea. Its northern location makes it prone to ice fields and glaciers.  The highest point is Kebnekaise at 2,469 meters (8,100 feet.) Carpathian Mountains: 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) The Carpathians stretch across Eastern and Central Europe. Theyre the second-longest mountain range in the region and can be divided into three major sections: the Eastern Carpathians, Western Carpathians, and the Southern Carpathians. The second-largest virgin forest in Europe is located in these mountains. They are also home to a large population of brown bears, wolves, chamois, and lynx. Hikers can find many mineral and thermal springs in the foothills.  The highest point is Gerlachovskà ½ Ã… ¡tà ­t at 2,654 meters (8,707 feet.) Alps: 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) The Alps are probably the most famous mountain range in Europe. This range of mountains stretches across eight countries: France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Monaco and Liechtenstein. Hannibal once famously rode elephants across them, but today the mountain  range is more home to skiers than pachyderms. The Romantic poets would be enamored with the ethereal beauty of these mountains, making them the backdrop for many novels and poems. Farming and forestry are large parts of these mountains economies along with tourism. The Alps remain one of the worlds top  travel destinations.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹The highest point is Mount Blanc at 4,810 meters (15,781 feet.) Caucasus Mountains: 1,100 kilometers (683 miles) This mountain range is notable not only for its length but also for being the dividing line between Europe and Asia.  This mountain range was an important part of the historical trade route known as the Silk Road that connected the ancient Eastern and Western world. It was in use as early as 207 BCE, carrying silk, horses and other goods to trade between continents.  The highest point is Mount Elbrus at 5,642 meters (18,510 feet.) Apennine Mountains: 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) The Apennine mountain range stretches the length of the Italian Peninsula. In 2000, the Environment Ministry of Italy suggested extending the range to include the mountains of Northern Sicily. This addition would make the range 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) long, tying them in length with the Carpathians. It has one of the most intact ecosystems in the country. These mountains are one of the last natural refuges of the largest European predators like the Italian wolf and Marsican brown bear, which have gone extinct in other regions.  The highest point is Corno Grande at 2,912 meters (9,553 feet.)