A real dreamer must have a mutual trust with time.

To write about a struggle amidst the struggling: one must hope that the muddling will end someday.

It is a Chinese tradition that everyone has to be in everyone else's life.

Your characters are always your children. And while you are writing, you're keeping them safe. Now they're ready to go into the world and it's sad. I'm happy with the way the novel came out but all the characters' ending really saddened me.

I think the isolation in China also has to do with people's memories being wiped out, collective memories as well as individual memories, by the fact that the recent history has been constantly rewritten and revised.

There is a certain amount of politeness here in America, which is probably more than just politeness.

Regarding heroism, I grew up in a culture where you learn about heroes and heroines all the time. In a way, when you call someone a hero or heroine, it's the same as calling them a villain.