Quotes from Mo Yan

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.

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

When Communism has been realized, everyone will be a novelist.

The act of giving voice to this spiritual suffering is, in my view, the sacred duty of the writer.

A writer should always bravely face life, risking death and mutilation in order to dethrone an emperor.

Wind, then rain, and then the blue sky.

The young must not scoff at the old, for flowers don't bloom forever

Only by recalling a dream is an insomniac sure he's slept.

When people are driven nearly mad, they are imbued with superhuman strength and are capable of almost supernatural deeds.

There are people who walk mules and people walk horses, but I never thought there were people who walk cops.

The cliche that sea dry up and rocks rot away, but the heart never changes is nothing but a beautiful fantasy.

A sudden cloud formation of birds was swallowed up by the moon, and he was just as suddenly penned in by four walls—the demons' pen.

He who steals hooks is a thief. He who robs a nation is a nobleman.

My grandmother once told me that while there is no suffering a person cannot endure, there is plenty of good fortune one can never hope to enjoy. I believe that.

Always choose life. A demeaned life is better than the best death.

The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black mulberry leaves turned as red as roses; pristine white acacia petals shed an enshrouding pale-green aura. Mild evening breezes made both the mulberry leaves and the acacia petals dance and whirl, filling the woods with a soft rustle.

Di mana ada kehidupan, di situ pasti ada kematian. Mati itu mudah ; hiduplah yang sulit. Semakin berat kehidupan yang dihadapi, semakin kuat keinginan untuk bertahan. Dan semakin besar ketakutan untuk mati, semakin besar pula perjuangan untuk terus hidup.

What a shame for a man like him to be born during peacetime. If he'd been born only a few decades earlier, he'd have worn the mantle of hero,

Dear brother," Number Two replied, "I can eat shit, I just don't like the taste.

Morir es fácil; lo difícil es vivir. Y cuanto más difícil se vuelve, más fuerte es la voluntad de seguir viviendo. Y cuanto mayor es el miedo a la muerte, mayor es el esfuerzo que se hace por conservar la vida.

As a child who grew up in a grassy field, enjoying little formal education, I know virtually nothing about literary theories and have had to rely solely upon my own experiences and intuitive understanding of the world to write.

Glory, causes, careers, and love mean nothing on an empty stomach. Because of food, I lost my self-respect; because of food, I suffered the humiliation of a lowly cur; and because of food I took up creative writing, with a vengeance.

Strong winds eventually cease, unhappy families return to peace

a bright sun darkens, a full moon wanes, a full cup overflows, and decay follows prosperity