Wise guy, he not go against wind. In Chinese we say, Come from South, blow with wind -- poom! -- North will… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
I used to think that my mother got into arguments with people because they didn't understand her English, because she was Chinese. — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
I am an American, steeped in American values. But I know on an emotional level what it means to be of the… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
“It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
Chinese artists have been subversive over thousands of years, taking what they think of the government and embedding it in their art.… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
People there only dream that it is China, because if you are Chinese you can never let go of China in your… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
My mother didn't teach me lessons about being Chinese as strongly as she did the notion of who I was as a… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
At the beginning of my career as a writer, I felt I knew nothing of Chinese culture. I was writing about emotional… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
My mother imparted her daily truths so she could help my older brothers and me rise above our circumstances. We lived in… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
And then it occurs to me. They are frightened. In me, they see their own daughters, just as ignorant, just as unmindful… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
I was raised the Chinese way: I was taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat my own bitterness.… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. Some say they understand 80 to… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not… — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
Only two kinds of daughters, she shouted in Chinese. Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! — Amy Tan Copy Share Image
So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. And later you wonder, Is this the… — Amy Tan Copy Share
Shanghainese people are good negotiators, they're very persistent, and you grow up in an atmosphere like that - very competitive. That becomes part of… — Amy Tan Copy Share
But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And… — Amy Tan Copy Share
You should think about your character. Know where you are changing, how you will be changed, what cannot be changed back again. — Amy Tan Copy Share
Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your… — Amy Tan Copy Share
We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in… — Amy Tan Copy Share
When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still… — Amy Tan Copy Share
“I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she… — Amy Tan Copy Share
