Quotes for All
In the century that has just passed, many of the intellectual elite went mad. It was as if, with the death of God, everyone suddenly turned into a saviour who wanted either to annihilate the obsolete world order or to establish a utopia. Naturally, there were writers among those who went mad. The fact that … Read more
Body odour (known also as scent of the immortals) is a disgusting condition with an awful, nauseating smell. Gao Xingjian
I want to write a novel so profound that it would suffocate a fly. Gao Xingjian
Only a lunatic would think that art is superior to nature. Gao Xingjian
When you’re telling a story, you’ve got to give details. Gao Xingjian
Man tends to think that he is a creator, that he is like God. This is especially true of intellectuals, and in the last century, intellectuals tended to forget that they were like everyone else. Writing this book was a description of man going from a state of God back to a state of man, … Read more
Literary revolution and revolutionary literature did not create a beautiful new world but instead divested literature of its basic nature, promoted violence, and, by resorting to linguistic violence, made a battlefield of this domain of spiritual freedom. Gao Xingjian
Young man, nature is not frightening, it’s people who are frightening! You just need to get to know nature and it will become friendly. This creature known as man is of course highly intelligent, he’s capable of manufacturing almost anything from rumours to test-tube babies and yet he destroys two to three species every day. … Read more
The sand murmurs that it wants to swallow everything. Gao Xingjian
When God talks to humans he doesn’t want humans to hear his voice. Gao Xingjian