How can I get the qualities of [the pines, which endure] the snow and frost, to abide in me? Labouring hard at poems to send forth their elegance, I set up high by a slab of rock alone. [The work of] stubborn Ni [Ni Zan, 1306–1374] was overly simple and desolate, so I have changed his methods. It is not necessary to limit oneself to one style. Dai Benxiao (Chinese, 1621–1693) @ The Metropolitan Museum of Art