I'm a free man now, except I cannot leave China. You know, I have no desire to travel. I have so many things to do; I cannot finish them now.

Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.

A small act is worth a million thoughts.

Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught.

The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.

The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.

Maybe being powerful means to be fragile.

Everything is art. Everything is politics.

I think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions.

I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.

The purpose of art is the fight for freedom.

Divorce runs high these days, but I’m an exception to the norm. I got divorced when marriage was still popular.

There are no forces on this planet more dangerous to all of us than the fanaticisms of fundamentalism.

They may not look dangerous, but if angered [bowtruckles] will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs.

Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human manifestation.

It is the nature of stone to be satisfied. It is the nature of water to want to be somewhere else.

I say again that I am an atheist. I do not believe in God.

Don't bother. The glass is half-empty.

Artists must be men of wit, consciously or unconsciously philosophers; read, study and think a great deal of life.

He has committed the crime who profits by it.

I hardly have any spare time! But when I do, I garden a lot - I love plants and flowers.