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

 


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