The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons Quotes

“Only the most subtle soul understands their secret, and only the most flexible mind comprehends their number. The [master chef] I Chih was unable to tell people how he cooked,7 and wheelwright Pien could not inform people how he wielded his ax.8 [Great art] is infinitely subtle.”
― Liu Hsieh, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons

“Comprehensive learning and broad experience are the only foods that will nourish writing afflicted with poverty of substance, and coherence and unity are the only medicines which will cure confusion. To be coherent and unified as well as comprehensive is also one way to reduce mental effort.”
― Liu Hsieh, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons

“An appreciative critic is essential to the realization of the value of a literary work. For works of art are never completed once and for all. Their value is ever enhanced by the appreciation and reinterpretation across the ages by critics who bring to their perusal their ever deepening experience...a literary work loses much of its richness if it is not appreciated.”
― Vincent Yu-Chung Shih, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons