Chinese culture in general is not very religious. Confucianism is more a code of ethics than a religion, and ancestor worship is a way for parents to control you even after theyre dead.
David Henry HwangWhy, in the Peking Opera, are women's roles played by men?...Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.
David Henry HwangI define the American dream as the ability to imagine a way that you want your life to turn out, and have a reasonable hope that you can achieve that.
David Henry HwangIt's the stories that make my heart beat faster ...those are the ones to write about
David Henry HwangTo me to write well is to battle stereotypes. To write well is to create three-dimensional characters that seem human.
David Henry HwangI now know that to do a worthwhile family history I must interpret the past without falling into either demonizing or unquestioning acceptance. . . . As a playwright, what I object to right now is any form of fundamentalism, whether it's nationalistic, religious or ethnic. . . . I think it is ridiculous - and fundamentalist, by the way - to say that I am not changed by the culture around me.
David Henry Hwang