Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t19.14

v2.c10.s2.t19.14

"Bāṇa always seemed energetic, real and brave when he touched the truth of life", commented by Shanka Geyou. In his works, he described the Heavenly Goddess as sacred and inaccessible, the holiness of royalty seemed ridiculous and absurd, and his descriptions of princes, beggars, soldiers and hermits were all vivid and natural. He was expertly skilled at camouflage with numerous subtle metaphors and words or phrases with double meanings and owned a surprisingly excellent ability to reveal though weakly but genuinely the unpleasant truth among a large bunch of complimentary remarks and those are what current historians need to pay attention to when referring to his works as evidence". If a reader fails to see through those camouflages to figure out the truth, it will be his own fault. The art of disguise found in Bāṇa's works can be viewed as tool which he used to tell the truth.