When Han Kan was summoned
to the imperial capital
it was suggested he sit at the feet of
the illustrious senior court painter
to learn from him the refinements of the art.

" No, thank you, " he replied,
" I shall apprentice myself to the stables. "
And he installed himself and his brushes amid the dung and the flies,
and studied the horses — their bodies' keen alertness —
eye-sparkle of one, another's sensitive stance,
the way a third moved graceful in his bulk —
and painted at last the emperor's favorite,
the charger named " Nightshining White, "

whose likeness after centuries still dazzles.