Beijing Coma took me 10 years to finish.

Only when you are aware of the uniqueness of everyones individual body will you begin to have a sense of your own self-worth.

When history is erased, people's moral values are also erased.

Everything I was I carry with me, everything I will belies waiting on the road ahead.

I believe that the power of literature is stronger than the power of tyranny.

China is completely lacking in self-awareness and as someone who has stepped outside that society, I have a responsibility to write about it as I see it.

I left Beijing in 1987, shortly before my books were banned there, but have returned continually.

Tyrannies not only want to control your mind and thoughts but your flesh as well.

What we mean by Tao is the way or course of Nature. This way has nothing good or bad, it is a mere flowing of things following the development and decline attributes of the moment.

The literal meaning of the Chinese characters for revolution is elimination of life

Living in London is like being on a luxury cruise liner.

A leader in the Democratic Party is a boss, in the Republican Party he is a leader.

A chair must be really important as an object, because my mother always told me to offer my chair to a lady

Best advice, bro: Think big. Don't think small. If you think small, then you're going to stay small. Think (about) the broad scope.

I don't have to put out another rap record. I can do it at my casual pace.

To awaken human emotion is the highest level of art.

Mrs Thatcher requires devotion as well as obedience.

We shouldn't censor ourselves based on the weak idea of "looking cool." It's such a waste of potential awesomeness.

Why did the Germans and Japanese keep fighting after 1943 when every rational hope of victory had disappeared?

History has to be rewritten because history is the selection of those threads of causes or antecedents that we are interested in.

I love Jill Scott! I love everything she puts on, how she does her hair; everything about Jill Scott is amazing!