Quote: Wong May on Tang Dynasty poetry
"In times of continual, rampant warfare, a retreat to Nature was a necessary strategy. If the poets seek refuge in Nature, it must also be evident that Nature seeks refuge in a Tang poem; the temptation of a 20-word quatrain--for infinite Nature to come to rest in a 4x5 grid, just so; a sight to behold." --Poet and translator Wong May, from her book In the Same Light: 200 Tang Poems for Our Century