Mo Yan Quotes

In general I love to eat anything. I enjoy anything that is well prepared, a good spaghetti, lasagna, taco, steak, sushi, refried beans.

I have a lot of cooking tools. In fact I have a whole drawer full of knives. Cooking tools, especially cutlery, are my toys.

Chinese culture has a lot of virtues that are tremendously valuable to not only us as Asian-Americans, but also the world in general.

People who don't travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what's in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live.

Why is America such a great country. It is because we stand united.

Possibly because I've lived so much of my life in difficult circumstances, I think I have a more profound understanding of life.

So when I do Chinese cooking, I mix everything together, then the kids have to eat their vegetables. They won't have the patience to pick them out.

I am also well aware that literature only has a minimal influence on political disputes or economic crises in the world, but its significance to human beings is ancient.

You can do almost anything with soup stock, it's like a strong foundation. When you have the right foundation, everything tastes good.

For a country boy, poor as I was, whose constant worry was to be able to have enough to eat, the Army guaranteed one's survival.

When someone forces me to do something I don't do it.

Loneliness and hunger were my fortunes of creation.

A writer should bury his thoughts deep and convey them through the characters in his novel.

My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature. They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs.

The act of giving voice to this spiritual suffering is, in my view, the sacred duty of the writer.

Happiness is within. It has nothing to do with how much applause you get or how many people praise you. Happiness comes when you believe that you have done something truly meaningful.

People who are strangers to liquor are incapable of talking about literature.

When I write, I try to represent the ordinary person in the pew, which means that, ironically, I'm qualified to write about prayer by being unqualified!

One of the biggest problems in literature is the lack of subtlety.

I know what real courage is, and I understand true compassion.

No person writes to win awards.

If I could only have one type of food with me, I would bring soy sauce. The reason being that if I have soy sauce, I can flavor a lot of things.

A sudden cloud formation of birds was swallowed up by the moon, and he was just as suddenly penned in by four walls-the demons' pen.

I live a very low-key life.

I think writers write for their consciences, they write for their own true audiences, for their souls.

Some may want to shout on the street, but we should tolerate those who hide in their rooms and use literature to voice their opinions.

A writer should always bravely face life, risking death and mutilation in order to dethrone an emperor.

I remember when I was in college, I used to watch Julia Child's cooking show during dinner and joke with my roommates about becoming a TV chef.

I'll continue on the path I've been taking, feet on the ground, describing people's lives, describing people's emotions, writing from the standpoint of the ordinary people.

First of all, I can't really claim to be a great chef.

The problem with a lot of Chinese is that they put up divisions between Taiwanese, Hong Kong natives, mainlanders. We are never united. I really hope that the Chinese can be more united.

Just like if you were brought up on a farm, you would most likely carry on your father's business as a farmer; I was brought up in the kitchen and ended up becoming a chef.

A writer should express criticism and indignation at the dark side of society and the ugliness of human nature, but we should not use one uniform expression.

Some people never contribute anything positive to society, they may even drain our resources, but most of us try to do something better, to give back.

The hoopla, the applause, the praises have never excited me.

I normally don't eat junk food.

I've never considered myself a celebrity or even part of the entertainment business. I'm a cooking teacher.

I think being famous is more of a hindrance, a constraint, than just letting yourself be free.

Anyone that has come to America past the age of eighteen will be able to understand when I say that you can never shake your accent.

A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him.

I also have a lot of preserved foods, things that will keep for a long time like dried fish, seaweed or lotus seed.

When I retire or pass away, I will be able to look back and say that this has been an exciting life. That's all that matters.

As long as the food is well prepared and not overdone, I think it tastes good. It doesn't matter if it's Chinese, Japanese, anything.

Because normally with Western cuisine, you'll serve vegetables separate from the meat, so kids will eat the meat and never touch the vegetables.

I can represent my culture while helping not only the Chinese-American community, but also the community at large.

The only thing that counts is if you know how to prepare your ingredients. Even if with the best and freshest ingredients in the world, if your dish is tasteless or burnt, it's ruined.

Soy sauce is really a multi-purpose seasoning.

At thirteen, when I arrived in Hong Kong after leaving China, I made a living by working in a restaurant.

When you have a good stock, you can make a good soup.

I have always been independent. I like it that way. When someone forces me to do something, I don't do it.