But now for the first time I understand

I did a quick search for a Song poem online for this post and this one jumped out at me. I feel it relates to some of the paintings I have been working on lately. But anyway I heard some interesting news this week. A Song dynasty bowl recently sold at auction for 26.7 million U.S. dollars. That is an astonishing amount of money and is hard to comprehend. It's interesting to consider how many bowls could be purchased from practicing makers today. Here is a poem from the Song Dynasty by Wang Li.

"In my dream I scratch my head and get up and listen.
I listen and listen, until the dawn.
All my life I have heard rain,
and I am an old man;
but now for the first time I understand
the sound of spring rain
on the river at night."

- Yang Wanli

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17612167

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2125032/Chinese-Song-dynasty-dish-sells-26-7m.html