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| Mr. Wang (with broom) representing Ping, and Mr. Shan (sans broom) as Pong. |
8th century Chinese poet Han Shan had this to say about his predecessor, a certain Mr. Wang:
"Mr. Wang's degree says Flourishing Talent.
He loves to find fault with my poems.
He says I don't follow the regulations,
and don't use the right techniques.
He says I don't use the four tones correctly,
and just stick in words any which way.
I laugh at what he calls poetry: a blind man's
rhymes in lukewarm praise of the sun."
to which Mr. Wang replied:
"Mr. Shan's degree says Master of Subversion.
He loves to find fault with my poems.
He says I don't follow his regulations,
and don't use the right techniques.
He says I don't use the four tones correctly,
and choose my words too carefully.
I laugh at what he calls poetry: a blind man's
rhymes in lukewarm praise of the sun."
