The Chinese have made a faustian pact with the government, agreeing to forsake demands for political and intellectual freedom in exchange for more material comfort. They live prosperous lives in which any expression of pain is forbidden. — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
Everything I was I carry with me, everything I will belies waiting on the road ahead. — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
I am trying to persuade my family to spend more time in China. It's no fun to be in exile. I can't even figure out the basic 26 letters, let alone operate, in English. I often feel that although I've found the sky of freedom above my head, I've lost the soil I stand on. I need to be back… — Ma Jian Copy Share
“I see my skeleton walking down the street now. I’m walking behind it. Our feet touch the ground at the same time. I am my own shadow. The road we’re walking along looks familiar. The trees lining the pavement have been bleached by the sun. There are stone steps on my left. I climb them. This is the route I… — Ma Jian Copy Share
Red Dust was about the late 1980s; it was a time of burgeoning hopes and opening up and people searching for new ways. — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
I meant that the Chinese people are not aware of their own entrapment. They believe they live in a free society, but don't realize… — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
I am completely in favour of dialogue and engagement. But it must be a true, open dialogue. — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
I have to live within my memories, within my private universe, and continually return to China, the land where my thoughts are locked. This… — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
After the Tiananmen Massacre, I felt compelled not only to continue writing but to actively resist the restrictions placed on freedom of speech. I… — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
The Beijing Olympics represent China's grand entrance onto the world stage and confirmation of its new superpower status. — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
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… — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
“When our parents are alive, they stand in front of us, blocking our view of death. But once they’ve gone, we find ourselves at… — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
It is vitally important for me, both personally and for my writing, to be able to return to China freely, so being barred entry… — Ma Jian Copy Share Image
