We grew up in a very material-lacking socialist society, but today China is a capitalist society. It's very materialistic. It's full of desire and luxury goods.

I think by not letting young people be fully informed, how can they have energy and passion and the right picture of the world? I think that's the true crime.

Artists are the worst [people]. They are selfish, self-centred; they don't care what happens.

If I look at it, I would laugh. I don't know how I became successful.

The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China's future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state, the jobs for 7 million university graduates every year, the immense corruption: Even some Western governments would have to scramble to find solutions to such problems.

If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain

Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you. But personally, I don't think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it's beyond my own consciousness.