10 quotes
The relationship between man and liquor embodies virtually all contradictions involved in the process of human existence and development.
The Republic of Wine (1992)
The fundamental principle of literature is to create something out of nothing and to make up stories. My creation has not been altogether fashioned out of nothing, and is not entirely made up.
The Republic of Wine (1992)
A writer should always bravely face life, risking death and mutilation in order to dethrone an emperor.
The Republic of Wine (1992)
Liquor infatuates me until I am in capable of following rules and regulations. Liquor's character is wild and unrestrained; its temperament is to talk without thinking.
The Republic of Wine (1992)
For a writer, talent is everything. Lots of people make a career out of writing, producing many works and knowing exactly what it takes to become a great writer. But they never break into the big time, because they lack one thing: talent, or a sufficient amount of it.
The Republic of Wine (1992)
Finally, she mused that human existence is as brief as the life of autumn grass, so what was there to fear from taking chances with your life?
Red Sorghum: A Novel of China (1986)
Are women really wonderful things? Maybe they are. Yes, women are wonderful things, but when all is said and done, they aren't really “things".
Big Breasts and Wide Hips (1996)
What we are pursuing is beauty, nothing but beauty. It's not true beauty if we didn't create it. Creating beauty with beauty is not true beauty either; real beauty is achieved by transforming the ugly into the beautiful.
The Republic of Wine (1992)
I sometimes think that there is a link between the decline in humanity and the increase in prosperity and comfort. Property and comfort are what people seek, but the costs to character are often terrifying.
Red Sorghum: A Novel of China (1986)
Where there's life, death is inevitable. Dying's easy; it's living that's hard. The harder it gets, the stronger the will to live. And the greater the fear of death, the greater the struggle to keep on living.
Big Breasts and Wide Hips (1996)