My childhood was quite extreme. Sometimes I was so weak I could not stand up. But now I am so strong. Life is unpredictable

If people are being abused or even killed during an arrest, this is highly disturbing.

Somehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time; we could be outside of China. But at the moment, we had no sense of what the future was going to be like.

New York has given me a lot, but I still don't consider it home.

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.

I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it's very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.

Once you've tasted freedom, it stays in your heart...