If you want to write about Jiangnan, you can’t just write about Jiangnan. You have to write about the sleeves of the water being gathered up, and the dancing girls’ lotus steps. You have to write about the fluttering clothes, and the feast of the pen and ink of the detractors. You have to write about the face of the boudoir under the crabapple and banana trees, and the lingering thoughts in the empty courtyard under the moon.