Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom

"It is one of the very first art books which helped artists develop the aptitude for seeing the inner essence of various natural phenomena."—Shambhala Sun "Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom could fit neatly into any number of contemporary-sounding categories: hybrid text, art book, lyric essay, etc. It is a book that relies on interdependence of image and text, of history and the present, of evocation and concrete image."—The Rumpus "Red Pine introduces Western readers to both the text itself and the traditions it has inherited."—Virginia Quarterly Review "All lovers of Asian poetry, mysterious history, divine drawing, and plum blossoms will enjoy this book. Thank you once again, Red Pine, for deep translation."—Michael McClure Through a series of brief four-lined poems and illustrations, Sung Po-jen aims at training artistic perception: how to truly see a plum blossom. First published in AD 1238,