1. I don't deny that I also enjoy a better material life, but most importantly, a society like America allows me to live a more focused and solitary life. I only want to read, write, and think; I want nothing else, I don't want to ask about anything else, I just want to be myself. This was impossible in the Soviet Union.
2. And public opinion, even if it is genuine, is absolutely not necessarily correct—this is the second point.
3. Along the way, both of them were very busy. The mother had to act as a tour guide, introducing the world to An'an, who was new to the area. And An'an had to point out and remind her of anything the mother missed.
4. To purge those with differing opinions for a self-proclaimed noble goal, even at the cost of indiscriminately killing innocent people to create a deterrent effect, is called terrorism when done by civilians. When done by the government, it is called state terrorism.
5. Money can buy a house, but not a home; money can buy jewelry, but not beauty; money can buy medicine, but not health; money can buy paper and pen, but not inspiration; money can buy books, but not wisdom; money can buy flattery, but not respect; money can buy partners, but not friends; money can buy obedience, but not loyalty; money can buy power, but not real knowledge; money can buy weapons, but not peace; money can buy the heart of a petty person, but not the ambition of a virtuous person.
6. In the end, man is a lonely being with nothing to rely on. If you can truly face birth, aging, sickness, and death, you will truly understand that in this world, there is nothing to cling to or rely on. —From "Watching You Go"
7. I used to disbelieve that "character determines destiny," but now I do. I used to disbelieve that "form is emptiness," but now I do. I used to disbelieve that "things will work themselves out," but now I somewhat believe it. I used to disbelieve things that couldn't be proven, and I'm still not ready to believe them now, but I understand some of the feelings that can't be proven, like Li Shutong's handwritten words before his death: "The friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water..." Between belief and disbelief, there seems to be a depth that makes one ponder.
8. The so-called relationship between father and daughter, mother and son, simply means that your connection with them in this life is to constantly watch their backs as they walk further and further away. You stand at one end of the path, watching them gradually disappear around the bend, and they silently tell you with their backs: there's no need to chase after them—"Watching Them Go"
9. A mother's longing for her growing child is always one-way; the vibrant child rushes towards their life's vision, eyes eagerly looking ahead, while the mother can only watch their increasingly smaller back, wondering how far and how long that horizon is, how it suddenly disappears from sight.
10. My mother is that traveler who took a "time machine" here but can never find the return journey.
11. At thirty, I feel that as long as a woman is aware, she can change society and change herself.
12. Popular culture, sifted through the sieve of time, discards the dross and retains the gold nuggets; what remains is called classic or classical…
13. I can only imagine that his inner world is as turbulent and profound as mine, but I cannot enter it.
14. Busyness prevents writers from writing, musicians from composing, painters from painting, and scholars from writing; busyness turns thinkers into talkers, talkers into entertainers, and entertainers into noisy clowns. Leisure and lingering are indeed the organic soil of creativity, indispensable.
15. Of course, no teacher would speak like this to twelve-year-olds. Because, how can this be a "motto" for life? - 1964
16. This society, for some reason, is filled with nostalgia for the past and disillusionment with the present; looking ahead, there seems to be no fresh imagination. Our era seems to be an unmarked era, where even the topic of rebellion cannot be found.
17. I have a kind of dullness unique to country folk. Growing up in a rural seaside village, I was unaware of the hustle and bustle of the city. It wasn't until I was eighteen that I first saw girls my age using bottles and jars of cosmetics, realizing that not all girls were like me, waking up with just water to wash their faces. I leisurely read under the phoenix trees in Tainan, unaware of competition or ambition. After graduating and arriving in Taipei, I was shocked to find everyone taking the TOEFL and applying for overseas studies. - What?
18. Walking alone is a private rendezvous between you and the scenery.
19. Some roads can only be walked alone.
20. I saw a talented scholar nurtured by the lush and cultured Jiangnan region; I saw an indomitable fighter born only in times of great upheaval and chaos; I saw a contemporary archetype of Chinese intellectuals—his back straight, his vision far-reaching, his heart broad, his emotions deep and unwavering, because he believed, truly believed, that a scholar cannot lack ambition and perseverance. I saw a noble and illustrious character. - The Last Afternoon Tea
1. Happiness is simply ordinary people living their lives as before. Under the dinner lamp, the same people sit in the same seats, talking about the same things. The young chatter on about their schools, the old ramble on about their dentures. The same aroma of frying fish wafts from the kitchen, and the same noisy television news blares from the living room.
2. Modern people doubt everything, question everything, and the institution of marriage is no exception. In my view, the relationship between marriage and the individual is like the relationship between the state apparatus and its citizens. A person needs security, so they need marriage, and also the state; but a person also craves freedom, even with the desire to escape marriage and resist the expansion of the state apparatus. Marriage and the state are extremely similar; both are necessary evils.
3. Some young people pursue fashion and don't talk about politics, which actually means they only care about their own affairs. Society is like a giant rolling vehicle, and there are always people inside enjoying themselves. Fortunately, there are always people who stick their heads out to see where this vehicle is actually going.
4. Can you imagine a more impoverished state of being than the indifference that comes from being overfed by material possessions?
5. Hua An's father said proudly, "Don't forget, I was the first person in the world to hold him." To witness the universe's creation and destruction, to embrace vibrant life—what a profound blessing! Yet some men refuse such a privilege. —From "Take Your Time, Child"
6. True understanding means knowing the deepest pain in someone's heart, knowing exactly where the pain lies.
7. A song, like a river, has its own basin.
8. Every era has those who think and those who don't.
9. Outside your secluded meditation room, many people hope to bring you a gentle word, a warm glance, a firm embrace. We are all here, waiting for you. But the path of cultivation is always lonely, because wisdom inevitably comes from solitude.
10. The current Shikumen (stone gate) style is essentially a result of relocating Shanghai's original residents, emptying it out, and then making it incredibly beautiful. Those who come in to consume are mostly wealthy people from a certain class—Taiwanese, Westerners, and wealthy Shanghainese—a minority. You take away the original, cherished urban culture and then put in a new form of capitalist colonial culture. If you tell me this is the best example of the connection between tradition and modernity, you're far from it.
11. If we want to maintain a basic level of human dignity, we must rely on a reasonable social order. This social order not only requires us not to do things that harm others for our own benefit, but also requires us to stop others from doing so. Not doing evil yourself only fulfills half the responsibility; the other half is that you cannot condone or tolerate others disrupting this social order.
12. There are imprints on the sand, sounds in the wind, and shadows in the light.
13. Andrei, the pain in our hearts doesn't become insignificant because there are greater or more "worthwhile" pains in the world; it may be insignificant to others, but for ourselves, every pain is absolute, real, significant, and painful. Should you be honest with or hide your feelings from this girl you like? I probably don't need to tell you, and I suppose you don't expect me to. What I want to share with you is my own "experience report," which is that life is like a great river, sometimes with beautiful scenery, sometimes with turbulent waves.
14. Happiness is ordinary people remaining the same. Happiness is the person who waved goodbye in the morning returning home normally in the evening, their schoolbag tossed in the same corner, their smelly sneakers stuffed under the same chair.
15. The dividing line between civilization and barbarism is thin, chaotic, and easily broken.
16. Studying hard isn't about competing with others for achievements, but because I hope to have the right to choose in the future—to choose meaningful and time-flexible work, instead of being forced to make a living. When your work is meaningful to you, you will have a sense of accomplishment.
17. Life is like this: you think you've escaped one whirlpool, but another one is right beneath your feet. One wrong step, and you're in. So, don't try too hard in life; your heart will guide you where you're meant to be.
18. Life is like a road leading from a wide plain into a forest. On the plain, companions can travel together, joyfully pushing and shoving, supporting each other. But once you enter the forest, the grass and thorns block the way, and everyone focuses on their own path, searching for their own direction. That pushing and shoving, that carefree and trusting camaraderie, is something only found in youth. Leaving this pure and bright stage, the road may become increasingly oppressive. You will be bound by family, tied down by responsibility, trapped by your own ambition, and oppressed by the complexities and loneliness of life. You walk deeper and deeper into the jungle, where the sunlight seems to disappear...
19. So, the New Year's Eve revelry, the focus, the countdown—is it perhaps a collective ritual of time? People in the city, with their lights too bright, are no longer accustomed to watching the movement of stars and the ebb and flow of tides. They can only grasp a date, and on that one night, with wine, music, and fireworks, emboldened by the shouts of the crowd, they carve a mark on that unseen measuring tape.
20. An international writers' conference made me see again the various efforts people make for their ideals; the driving force supporting those ideals, I think, is the joy and respect for life in people's hearts, stirred by the yellow ducklings floating among the willow branches. However, in people's clumsy efforts, I saw even more insurmountable obstacles. Alongside ideals, there is human selfishness, narrow-mindedness, the survival of the fittest... Even if the poet picks up his suitcase, the evils he despises do not cease.
21. In this world, things are easier to handle when there is love; what's frightening is hate, not love.
22. What is democracy? Democracy means expressing any opinion without fear of repercussions; democracy means being able to assert your rights when they are violated, regardless of your class or status; democracy means living an upright life without having to pledge allegiance to any party or appease anyone; democracy means not having to endure morally upright lies from news anchors on television; democracy means not having to train your children to lie from a young age to protect them; democracy means enjoying all kinds of freedom and knowing that that freedom won't be suddenly taken away because it wasn't granted; democracy is not just about elections and voting, it's a way of life, a way of thinking, the air you breathe every day, the refinement in your actions, and the space for personal maneuvering.
23. Sometimes, we measure time by the visible "badness." A familiar house we pass by every day, from the corrosion and collapse of the walls and the peeling doorposts, then watching the cracks in its roof widen inch by inch until it crumbles, how long does it take for wild vines to burst forth from the house, announcing its completion?
24. Every moment I "see" is captured, and in each captured moment, I feel a kind of "beauty" compelling me, because every moment is fleeting, fleeting, gone. —From "Watching You Go"
25. Love lasts mostly because there is a foundation of "mutual benefit" between the two people.
26. You must "leave" to develop yourself. Parents are those who constantly watch the retreating figure with both joy and sorrow, wanting to chase after it for a hug but daring not to speak out. —From "Dear Andre"
27. Worship, in the end, is only a form of peace for the living.
28. There's a kind of loneliness that can be lessened by having someone to talk to or a loyal dog by your side. There's another kind of loneliness, an endless, aimless feeling of being a lone boat adrift in the vast world, where one can only face it alone, cultivating oneself in solitude.
29. I truly believe that history never truly ends. It has warmth, it breathes; its gentle sighs and yearning gazes are there, so clear, as long as you look.
30. For a twenty-year-old, parents are probably like an old house. You live in it; it shelters you from the wind and rain, giving you warmth and security. But a house is just a house. You don't talk to it, communicate with it, care for it, or try to please it. If you bump into a corner while moving furniture, you won't apologize. Decades later, you'll look back and gaze at this silent old house.
31. Modern people doubt and question everything, and the institution of marriage is no exception. In my view, the relationship between marriage and the individual is like that between the state apparatus and its citizens. A person needs security, so they need marriage, and also the state; but a person also yearns for freedom, even though there is a desire to escape marriage and resist the expansion of the state apparatus. Marriage and the state are extremely similar; both are necessary evils.
32. Happiness is: not having to live in constant fear.
33. I once believed in love, but later I learned that love must transform into kinship to last, but love transformed into kinship is like an ice cube melting into a glass of water—is it still an ice cube? (From "Believe or Not")
34. It is unfair to hold insignificant individuals responsible. Individuals are merely invisible cogs in the enormous machine of the "system." Whether the machine manufactures weapons of murder or tools of salvation is not the responsibility of the cog.
35. How can you not be angry? How can you still have the conscience to hide in a corner as part of the "silent majority"? You think you're a good person, but because you don't get angry, you endure, you give in, so vendors have turned your home into a dilapidated tenement, so Taipei's traffic is a mess, so the Tamsui River is a rotten intestine; because you don't speak up, don't curse, don't express your opinions, so your beloved child eats, drinks, and breathes chemical toxins every day, and you're still dreaming of the day he graduates from university! You've forgotten that a few years ago in the south, many pregnant women, nine months pregnant, also closed their eyes and dreamed of the day their children grew up, but they never expected that after eating drops of pure salad oil, their children would be born blind and black! Don't think that because you're a university professor, research is more important; don't think that because you're a butcher, no one will listen to you; and don't think that because you're a student, you're not qualified to care about social affairs. (From *Wildfire Collection*)
36. If someone says they are the losers of the war, then all those trampled, insulted, and hurt by the times are. It is they who, through their failures, taught us what truly worthwhile values are. Look me in the eye and tell me honestly: are there victors in war? I am proud to be the next generation of the defeated.
37. Did you know? The most "mysterious" rule in chess, in my opinion, is the "pawn." Once a pawn crosses the river, there is no turning back. In life, one decision leads to another, one chance determines another, therefore chance is never truly chance; one path inevitably leads to the next, with no turning back. I've discovered that all decisions in life are, in fact, pawns that have crossed the river.
38. Culture? It's the way a random person walks towards you, their gestures, their smiles, their overall demeanor. As they pass a tree with low-hanging branches, do they casually break off a branch and discard it, or bend down to let them pass? A stray dog covered in mange approaches them; do they pity it and avoid it, or kick it away? When the elevator doors open, do they humbly let others pass, or domineeringly push them aside? A blind person stands beside them at a crosswalk; when the green light comes on, will they help the blind person? How do they brush past others? How do they bend down to tie their loose shoelaces? How do they receive change from a vegetable vendor? (Classic Quotes)
39. I once believed that the sea drying up and the rocks crumbled as a symbol of eternity and immortality. Later, I learned that the sea can easily dry up, and rocks can easily crumble. Rain may never come again, and the ocean may never become mulberry fields again. It turns out that the earth beneath my feet can easily be destroyed. The eternity of the sea drying up and the rocks crumbling doesn't exist.
40. In Taiwan, the easiest creatures to survive aren't cicadas, but rather "bad guys," because Chinese people are afraid of trouble and selfish; as long as they don't get into his bed, he'd rather close his eyes and pretend to be asleep. (From *Wildfire Collection*)
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