"When I first set foot in the city of Venice, I was totally stunned: before me was not just a city, but a living entity. Each square, each bridge, and each building there is as unique as each leaf on tree; one cannot find even two bricks alike, because each of them embodies an ancestor's talent, imagination, and creativity, and therefore, is alive. I could hear the breath of the city in the sound of wooden oars stroking the quiet ripples in the canals; I could feel it's heartbeats in the ringing of church bells, that divine sound which floats from hundreds of church towers day and night throughout the city; I could even see the flow of life through the city's arteries, in the elegant S-shaped Grand Canal and other criss-crossing roads of water that have nurtured the city and its people for centuries. But what is more amazing, each cell of the city seems to emanate a spirit, as though baptized by the rich history of nearly 1500 years. I only wish my experience of the soul and the spirit of Venice may also touch your mind and heart--through my canvas."
--Cao Yong
