Megophias

The serpentine form of one animal, the dragon, has come to epitomize Chinese genius. Identified with the figure of the emperor, belonging to heaven yet associated with the sea and water, this fantastic animal is to be seen coiling over the paunches of ritual bronzes and the polished surface of jade. -Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter-

Chinese painter Fu Kuan believed nature was a better teacher than other artists, and he spent long days in the mountains studying configurations of rocks and trees and the effect of sunlight and moonlight on natural forms. -Fred Kleiner-

The sense of "attunement" is fundamental in Chinese thinking. Man must attune himself not only to nature but also to his fellow men, in ever-widening circles starting from his family and friends. Thus, in the past the highest ideal was always to discover the order of things and to act in accordance with it. -Michael Sullivan-

To the Daoists, the dragon was the Dao itself, an all-pervading force that momentarily reveals itself to us only to vanish again and leave us wondering if we had actually seen it at all. -Michael Sullivan-

Between mountain and water, the light of mist and the shadows of clouds are ever-changing. One minute appearing, the next fading away, radiant or concealed, they harbor within them the Breath and the Spirit. -Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter-

The Breath and the Spirit - a beautifulful definition of painting as philosophy, and also as a way of life in which men of letters, painters, monks and poets can weave close relations and pursue their research side by side. -Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter-

When the Chinese legendary painter Muqi painted a dragon suddenly appearing from the clouds, he was depicting a cosmic manifestation and at the same time symbolizing the momentary, elusive vision of truth that comes to the dragon . . . -Michael Sullivan-

Veni dulcis amica mea Cum qua iocari et suaviari Et teneras delicas sumere Et in amore finire -Ambrosius de Jilocasin-

A riddle: It is cold and it is hot It is white and it is dark It is stone and it is wax Its true nature is of flesh And its color is red -Merlin the Magician-

The forms of Chinese art are beautiful because they are in the widest and deepest sense harmonious, and we can appreciate them because we too feel their rhythms all around us in nature and instinctively respond to them. -Michael Sullivan-

Wistful, away from my friends and kindred, Through mist and fog I float and float With the sail that bears me toward Loyang. In Yangzhou trees linger bell-notes of evening, Marking the day and the place of our parting.... When shall we meet again and where? Destiny is a boat drifting in the water, flows back and fro, beyond our will. -Wei Yingwu-

The single brushstroke is the origin of all things, the root of all phenomena; its function is manifest for the spirit and hidden within man, but the vulgar are unaware of this . . .Painting emanates from the intellect. Whether it be the beauty of mountains, rivers, people and things, the essence and nature of birds, beasts, grass and trees, or the measurements and proportions of a fishpond, pavilion, edifice oe esplanade, one cannot penetrate its way nor explore all its manifold aspects if in the end one doesn't possess the immense measure of the single brushstroke. -Shitao-

Over the wide sea Towards its many distant isles My ship sets sail. Will the fishing boats thronged here Proclaim my journey to the world? -Ono no Takamura-

Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love. -Rainer Rilke-

In painting as in the universe, without emptiness, the vital breath could not circulate, the Yin-Yang would not operate. Without it, the brushstroke, which implies volume and light, rhythm and color, could not manifest all its potentialities. -François Cheng-

All birth means separation from the All, the confinement within limitation, the separation from God, the pangs of being born ever anew. The return into the All, the dissolution of painful individuation, the reunion with God means the expansion of the soul until it is able once more to embrace the All. -Hermann Hesse-

Water dragons are perfectly at home in water, moving through it with great agility and speed. Because they live in water, these creatures have partially lost the ability to fly, and can make only short gliding flights – although some of them can attain a reasonable air speed. -Ciruelo-

Let the winds of heaven Blow through the paths among the clouds And close their gates. Then for a while I could detain These messengers in maiden form. -The Monk Henjo-

According to Ciruelo, dragons have grouped into three large families: Earth dragons, Water dragons, and Fire dragons. Earth dragons and Water dragons look for two adjacent caves, and once it has picked out the grottoes it wants, it digs passages the exact width of its body to connect the two caves. The Fire dragons prefer live inside active volcanoes, and their natural surroundings are the great rivers of lava and fiery caverns in the belly of the Earth. -The book of the dragon-

The man of the heart is enchanted by the mountain, the man of the mind enjoys water. -Confucius-

A true seeker could not accept any teachings, not if he sincerely wished to find something. But he who had found, could give his approval to every path, every goal; nothing separated him from all of the other thousands who lived in eternity, who breathed the Divine. -Hermann Hesse-

As a person of brightness living now in a town of light, to which pond will you go to sip when overcome by night? When you scoop up the water what vision of the moon will you find in your palm? -Chimako Tada-

觸袖野花多自舞。避人幽鳥不成啼 Brushed by his sleeves, wild flowers dance in the wind; Fleeing from him, hidden birds cut short their songs. -馬遠-

Dragons are very good at riddles and they are very proud of that. If you are admitted to a riddle contest, please don’t try too hard to outsmart them or else you would lose their friendship. Sometimes dragons appear like a mystery, and it's not easy for them to trust human being; but generally dragons are very generous, if once he believes you are a true friend and trustworthy, he might give you the Lapis draconiensis aurulucentis as a gift.

drag·on noun a mythical monster like a giant reptile. 龍 con rồng Drachen draco Dragão δράκων dragon अजगर drak ドラゴン joka lohikäärme 용 naga Дракон sárkány နဂါး smok تنين டிராகன் pūķis මකරා tarakona Урт דראַקאָן

Water-courses are the arteries of a mountain; grass and trees its hair; mist and haze its complexion. -Gao Xi-

It has been reported that fire dragons used to be abundant in the volcanoes of Iceland. They venture as far as Iceland and the north of Britain. In Italy a small colony of this charming species has survived in Sicily. Curiously, however, in Vesuvius there is no evidence whatsoever of the existence of Draco Flameus. -Ciruelo-

In Chinese mythology, tiger and dragon are two legendary creatures symbolize for power. Tiger is the ruler of mountains and dragon, water.

夫畫者，從於心者也。 -朱若極-

兵者，詭道也。 故能而示之不能， 用而示之不用， 近而示之遠， 遠而示之近。 -孫武-

In a mountain stream There is a wattled barrier Built by the busy wind. Yet it's only maple leaves, Powerless to flow away. -Harumichi no Tsuraki-

It is said that dragons are very fond of jewels and so they can spot a fake one easily. They are very proud and they are very sensitive to the mockery. Almost all the dragon families love magic; and every dragon was warned from a very young age that he should never ever tell anyone his true name or he will lose the mastery of magic.

行千里而不勞者， 行於無人之地也。 -孫武-

Hairless, hatless, with no longer a refuge wherein to flee this world, I become the man in the picture, fishing rod in hand amidst water and reeds. There where, limitless, Sky and Earth are but one. -Shitao-

縱使筆不筆，墨不墨，自有我在。 -原濟-

Winter loneliness In a mountain village grows Only deeper, when Guests are gone, and leaves and grass Are withered: troubling thoughts. -Minamoto no Muneyuki-

The depths of the hearts Of humankind cannot be known. But in my birthplace The plum blossoms smell the same As in the years gone by. -Ki no Tsurayuki-

To live only for the moment, to contemplate the moon, snow, cherry trees in bloom and autumn leaves, to love wine, women and song, to allow oneself to be carried along by the current of life like a gourd drifts with the stream. -Asai Ryōi-

There was hardly a subject that Muqi did not touch. Landscapes, birds, tigers, monkeys, bodhisattvas - all were the same to him. In all he sought to express an essential nature that was not a matter of form - for his forms may break up or dissolve in mists - but of inner life, which he found because it was in the painter himself. -The Arts of China-

秦時明月漢時關， 萬里長征人未還。 但使龍城飛將在， 不教胡馬度陰山。 -王昌齡-

I exist by myself and for myself. -Daoji-

It is in the heart of silence that one hears the call of the phoenix.

When it comes to Chinese painting, the subject matter of bamboo is always the highest artistic expression. As Art historian Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter states that 'The bamboo theme, a symbol of the fusion of painting and calligraphy, was explored with immense fervor by poets, monks and scholar-painters alike. Executed with great economy of means, this unfortunately fragmented work was created in this intense cultural climate. The nervously drawn leaves, oscillating and bending in the wind but never breaking, are a thinly veiled allusion to the figure of the sage retaining all his integrity in the face of the invader.

Before painting bamboo, bamboo must grow inside you. Then, brush in hand, eyes staring intently, the vision appears before you. Seize this vision immediately with your brush, because it can disappear as suddenly as the hare when the hunter approaches! -Su Shi-