袁枚·《品画》
品画先神韵,论诗重性情。
蛟龙生气尽,不若鼠横行。
Talking Art
Yuan Mei
In painting it’s catching the “spirit” and “essence.”
In poems that’s “nature” and “feelings.”
An elegant dragon, with its life’s breath gone?
Better a rat, with some scurry left in him.
(J.P. Seaton 译)