Zhang Yimou tried to use martial arts to talk about Chinese culture, Chinese people. What do they think, what do they want and what do they hope.

Everything too fast is not good but everything too slow is also not good. You need balance. That's why I like martial arts: it always tells you how to control your body, your mind, your heart. Balance. Balance can keep the world's peace. I think that's a very good thing.

A mob is a group of persons with heads but no brains.

If you are always allowed to stop training whenever you feel discomfort, you will find it too easy to give yourself permission to quit.

You can beat me up, but don't touch my hair, I will kill you!

Zhang Yimou is an artist. Sometimes we did only two or three shots a day because we were waiting for the sun.

Usually action films have a formula: good guy gets in trouble, his wife dies, friends have problems, so he goes to the mountain, learns martial arts, comes back, and kills the bad guy.