Barry Hughart

Little girls have large maternal instincts, and they take the Feast of Hungry Ghosts very seriously, and they were making their rounds with small lanterns made from candles inside rolled lotus and sage leaves. I could feel ghosts all around us, moving toward the warmth of the sweet singing voices: You are not alone, the girls sang, you are not forgotten, we care and understand, our own lives are but a candle flame from yours.

To cherish perfection is to commit creative suicide, and every true artist knows that a masterpiece is an accident that should be burned.

Begin at the beginning as you understood it, proceed through the middle, continue to the end, and then stop," said Master Li, and he sauntered out to get drunk....

Don't be ashamed of reliving your childhood, Ox, because all of us must do it now and then to maintain our sanity.