Xi Chuan Quotes

“Night is the sleep of seven wax moths
Dawn is the singing of five mermaids
Noon is the scratching of three field mice
Dusk is the shadow of a crow”
― Xi Chuan, Notes on the Mosquito: Selected Poems

“Many people pretend to be in thought, proving thought to be a beautiful thing.
But the bald man doesn’t need a comb, the tiger doesn’t need weapons, the fool doesn’t need thought. The person with no needs is practically a sage, but the sage also needs to count the rivers across the iron bridge to pass the time. This is the difference between the sage and the fool.”
― Xi Chuan, Notes on the Mosquito: Selected Poems

“If I breathe, what will my heart think?
If I vomit, what will my soul think?”
― Xi Chuan, Notes on the Mosquito: Selected Poems