Chinese novelist & playwright (1940- )
I don't want to be a strong hero who can save society. I just want to save myself.
GAO XINGJIAN
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The Guardian, Aug. 1, 2008
On the first level, I think that in the 20th century, the problem of exile or alienation is particularly pronounced for writers and artists. A second level is the more spiritual level, that exile also means overcoming ideology and overcoming attitudes and overcoming trends, and so exile has also been a way of pursuing nothingism or overcoming ideology. A third level is that artists tend to be on the margins of society. So from that perspective, exile is a kind of appropriate mental state, at least for artists. This is a good thing. If you were in the center of society, you'd be receiving input and pressure from too many different areas, and that's not the kind of environment that an artist needs to cultivate his own creativity and his own thoughts.
GAO XINGJIAN
"A Conversation with Gao Xingjian", Asia Society
It was not that he didn't remember he once had another sort of life. But, like the old yellowing photograph at home, which he did not burn, it was sad to think about, and far away, like another world that had disappeared forever.
GAO XINGJIAN
One Man's Bible
When you're telling a story, you've got to give details.
GAO XINGJIAN
Dialogue and Rebuttal