--- title: "3 Hmong Quotes By Anne Fadiman" description: "3 Hmong quotes by Anne Fadiman. Plus more from Anne Fadiman and more Hmong sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/anne-fadiman-7855_cultural-differences_timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphoric_1135923.jpg" --- > [“Timothy Dunnigan: The kinds of metaphorical language that we use to describe the Hmong say far more about us, and our attachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphorical-language-that-we-use-to/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/anne-fadiman-7855_cultural-differences_timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphoric_1135923.jpg) > [“The Hmong have a phrase, hais cuaj txub kaum txub, which means “to speak of all kinds of things.” It is often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-hmong-have-a-phrase-hais-cuaj-txub-kaum-txub-which-means-to-speak/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/anne-fadiman-7855_phrase_the-hmong-have-a-phrase-hais-cuaj-txub-k_2528303.jpg) > [“The Hmong never had any interest in ruling over the Chinese or anyone else; they wanted merely to be left alone, which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-hmong-never-had-any-interest-in-ruling-over-the-chinese-or-anyone/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/anne-fadiman-7855_culture_the-hmong-never-had-any-interest-in-ruli_3230276.jpg) ## More by Anne Fadiman > [“...in the midst of the tumult, part ecstasy and part panic, into which all first-time mothers are thrown by sleep deprivation and headlong identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/in-the-midst-of-the-tumult-part-ecstasy-and-part-panic-into-which-all/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“He simply could not imagine a time when being a Jew, or even a half Jew, was not a disability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/he-simply-could-not-imagine-a-time-when-being-a-jew-or-even-a-half/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“When he looked back at the menu as an old man, it brought back everything; the food, the wine, the private dining room, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/when-he-looked-back-at-the-menu-as-an-old-man-it-brought-back/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“His books commingled democratically, united under the all-inclusive flag of Literature. Some were vertical, some horizontal, and some actually placed behind others. Mine were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/his-books-commingled-democratically-united-under-the-all-inclusive/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“her father had built from ax-hewn planks thatched with bamboo and grass. The floor was dirt, but it was clean. Her mother, Foua, sprinkled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/her-father-had-built-from-ax-hewn-planks-thatched-with-bamboo-and/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [Some day, as soon as a book is printed it will be simultaneously put into digital form. That will be a wonderful research tool,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/some-day-as-soon-as-a-book-is-printed-it-will-be-simultaneously-put/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [The most important thing when starting out with essay writing is to find a voice with which you're comfortable. You need to find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-most-important-thing-when-starting-out-with-essay-writing-is-to/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“we expect a wine of quality to demand something from us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/we-expect-a-wine-of-quality-to-demand-something-from-us/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Going through a dead parent's memorabilia is a hazardous undertaking; there is a fine line between pleasure and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/going-through-a-dead-parent-s-memorabilia-is-a-hazardous-undertaking/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“He was constantly, pathologically, insanely busy. That’s how he afforded the wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/he-was-constantly-pathologically-insanely-busy-that-s-how-he-afforded/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [...the reader who plucks a book from her shelf only once is as deprived as the listener who, after attending a single performance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-reader-who-plucks-a-book-from-her-shelf-only-once-is-as-deprived/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Benjamin Franklin wrote that he would like to be embalmed in a cask of Madeira”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/benjamin-franklin-wrote-that-he-would-like-to-be-embalmed-in-a-cask/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“It has long been my belief that everyone's library contains an Odd Shelf. On this shelf rests a small, mysterious corpus of volumes whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone-s-library-contains-an-odd/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [If you truly love a book, you should sleep with it, write in it, read aloud from it, and fill its pages with muffin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/if-you-truly-love-a-book-you-should-sleep-with-it-write-in-it-read/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [Something amazing happens when the rest of the world is sleeping. I am glued to my chair. I forget that I ever wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/something-amazing-happens-when-the-rest-of-the-world-is-sleeping-i-am/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hmong/anne-fadiman/#itemlist", "name": "3 Hmong Quotes By Anne Fadiman", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Timothy Dunnigan: The kinds of metaphorical language that we use to describe the Hmong say far more about us, and our attachment to our own frame of reference, than they do about the Hmong.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Fadiman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphorical-language-that-we-use-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/anne-fadiman-7855_cultural-differences_timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphoric_1135923.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/anne-fadiman-7855_cultural-differences_timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphoric_1135923.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/anne-fadiman-7855_cultural-differences_timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphoric_1135923.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Timothy Dunnigan: The kinds of metaphorical language that we use to describe the Hmong say far more about…” — Anne Fadiman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Hmong have a phrase, hais cuaj txub kaum txub, which means “to speak of all kinds of things.” It is often used at the beginning of an oral narrative as a way of reminding the listeners that the world is full of things that may not seem to be connected but actually are; that no event occurs in isolation; that you can miss a lot by sticking to the point; and that the storyteller is likely to be rather long-winded.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Fadiman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-hmong-have-a-phrase-hais-cuaj-txub-kaum-txub-which-means-to-speak/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/anne-fadiman-7855_phrase_the-hmong-have-a-phrase-hais-cuaj-txub-k_2528303.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/anne-fadiman-7855_phrase_the-hmong-have-a-phrase-hais-cuaj-txub-k_2528303.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/anne-fadiman-7855_phrase_the-hmong-have-a-phrase-hais-cuaj-txub-k_2528303.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Hmong have a phrase, hais cuaj txub kaum txub, which means “to speak of all kinds of things.” It is…” — Anne Fadiman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Hmong never had any interest in ruling over the Chinese or anyone else; they wanted merely to be left alone, which, as their later history was also to illustrate, may be the most difficult request any minority can make of a majority culture.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Fadiman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-hmong-never-had-any-interest-in-ruling-over-the-chinese-or-anyone/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/anne-fadiman-7855_culture_the-hmong-never-had-any-interest-in-ruli_3230276.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/anne-fadiman-7855_culture_the-hmong-never-had-any-interest-in-ruli_3230276.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/anne-fadiman-7855_culture_the-hmong-never-had-any-interest-in-ruli_3230276.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Hmong never had any interest in ruling over the Chinese or anyone else; they wanted merely to be left…” — Anne Fadiman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hmong/anne-fadiman/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hmong/anne-fadiman/", "name": "Hmong Quotes by Anne Fadiman", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hmong/anne-fadiman/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/anne-fadiman-7855_cultural-differences_timothy-dunnigan-the-kinds-of-metaphoric_1135923.jpg" }, "description": "3 Hmong quotes by Anne Fadiman. 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