Quotes from Barry Hughart

The emotional health of a village depended upon having a man whom everyone loved to hate, and Heaven had blessed us with two of them.

Error can point the way to truth, while empty-headedness can only lead to more empty-headedness or to a career in politics.

Fable has strong shoulders that carry far more truth than fact can.

The supernatural can be very annoying until one finds the key that transforms it into science," he observed mildly... "Come on, Ox, let's go out and get killed.

The emotional health of a village depended upon having a man whom everyone loved to hate, and Heaven had blessed us with two of them.

Blessed are the idiots, for they are happiest people on earth.

Immortality is only for the gods," he whispered. "I wonder how they can stand it.

the problem with poetic justice is that it never knows when to stop.

Don't be ashamed of reliving your childhood, Ox, because all of us must do it now and then to maintain our sanity.

Master Li, how are we going to murder a man who laughs at axes?" I asked. We are going to experiment , dear boy. Our first order of business will be to find a deranged alchemist, which should not be very difficult. China," said Master Li, "is overstocked with deranged alchemists.

Mystery and terror are the bulwarks of tyranny.

I have never been able to understand why perfectly sensible people waste time being wittily obscure instead of just saying what they want and going on about their business.

Occasionally a moderately intelligent thought misses a turn and accidentally enters my mind

Our senses are woefully limited. Our brains are but tiny candles flickering in an infinity of darkness. Our only wisdom is to admit that we cannot understand, and since we cannot understand we must do the best we can with faith. which is our only talent. The greatest act of faith we are capable of is that of loving another more than we love ourselves, and occasionally we can be quite good at it.

The mind is a miser," he said. "Nothing is ever thrown away, and it's amazing what you can find if you dig deep enough.

everybody knows that the soul of a cat is formed from the composite souls of nine debauched nuns who failed in their vows.

Show me a quest for personal immortality and I'll show you a path through a slaughterhouse, and the incense of personal divinity is the stench of other people's corpses.

I shall clasp my hands together and bow to the corners of the world. May your villages remain ignorant of tax collectors, and may your sons be many and ugly and strong and willing workers, and may your daughters be few and beautiful and excellent providers of love gifts from eminent families that live very far away, and may your lives be blessed by the beauty that has touched mine. Farewell.

Ox, what occupation is most closely linked to insanity?' 'Emperor,' I said promptly.

Ox, at an early age a Chinese genius gazes at the path that lies ahead and reaches for a wine jar," Master Li said. "Is it any wonder that our greatest men have lurched rather than walked across the landscape as they hiccuped their way into history?

Boy, just look at the soul shining through my eyes! It's like a goddamned flower!

The problem with 'the crown jewel of Chinese literature' [Dream of the Red Chamber] is that it has two thousand pages and an equal number of characters, and the hero is an effeminate ass who should have either been spanked or decapitated, both ends being equally objectionable.

I have decided that the problem with poetic justice is that it never knows when to stop.

Little girls have large maternal instincts, and they take the Feast of Hungry Ghosts very seriously, and they were making their rounds with small lanterns made from candles inside rolled lotus and sage leaves. I could feel ghosts all around us, moving toward the warmth of the sweet singing voices: You are not alone, the girls sang, you are not forgotten, we care and understand, our own lives are but a candle flame from yours.