Gao Xingjian Quotes & Sayings

“It's in literature that true life can be found. It's under the mask of fiction that you can tell the truth.”

“If you want to do anything, do it now, without compromise or concession, because you have only one life.”

“Love is so holy, so confusing. It makes a man anxious, tormented. Love, how can I define it?”

“As a male writer, women are always what men pursue, and their world is always a mystery. So I always tried to present as many views as possible on women's worlds.”

“Experience has taught me that any kind of political grouping is oppressive. It's the blind mass that crushes the individual.”

“I don't want to be a strong hero who can save society. I just want to save myself.”

“When you use words, you're able to keep your mind alive. Writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.”

“In the history of literature there are many great enduring works which were not published in the lifetimes of the authors. If the authors had not achieved self-affirmation while writing, how could they have continued to write?”

“Observing humans and observing oneself yields a clear-minded starting point for literature.”