《世说新语·巧蓺》
别人问他什么原因，他说： 形体的美丑，本来和画作的神妙之处没有什么关系；画像要能传神。正是取决于眼珠。 
人问其故？顾曰： 四体妍蚩，本无关于妙处；传神写照，正在阿堵中。 
Someone else asked the reason, he answered: The beauty or ugliness of a figure, has nothing to do with the mysterious part of the painting; depicting the spirit in the image, depends precisely on the pupil.