--- title: "1 Looking History Quotes By Gish Jen" description: "1 Looking History quotes by Gish Jen. Plus more from Gish Jen and more Looking History sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/gish-jen-21997_history_he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-b_1533598.png" --- > [“He was like a nation in crisis, looking back, and back and back — its history might be ugly, but its past shone perfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-back-and-back-and-back-its/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/gish-jen-21997_history_he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-b_1533598.png) ## More by Gish Jen > [A man was the sum of his limits; freedom only made him see how much so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/a-man-was-the-sum-of-his-limits-freedom-only-made-him-see-how-much-so/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [I like to listen. I'm much more interested in listening than in speaking, for sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/i-like-to-listen-i-m-much-more-interested-in-listening-than-in/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [I hate to generalize because there are always so many exceptions to any rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/i-hate-to-generalize-because-there-are-always-so-many-exceptions-to/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [It's a matter of whether you see the self as fundamentally in relationship to other selves or not - whether you see the boundary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/it-s-a-matter-of-whether-you-see-the-self-as-fundamentally-in/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [For students who are in the most creative group in America to somehow be presumed to be narrow is just completely meshugga.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/for-students-who-are-in-the-most-creative-group-in-america-to-somehow/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [There's nothing about interdependence that would keep somebody from making art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/there-s-nothing-about-interdependence-that-would-keep-somebody-from/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [“To have no particular aim was to open grand possibilities...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/to-have-no-particular-aim-was-to-open-grand-possibilities/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [It's human to hear stories and to know how people live and to imagine how that is for them. It's very interdependent!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/it-s-human-to-hear-stories-and-to-know-how-people-live-and-to-imagine/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [Anything is possible. A man is what he makes up his mind to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/anything-is-possible-a-man-is-what-he-makes-up-his-mind-to-be/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [Chinese language tends to be quick, economical. To know what people are saying, you always need to know what the context is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/chinese-language-tends-to-be-quick-economical-to-know-what-people-are/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [Many women tend toward the interdependent end of things, we tend to see ourselves in relationship to others to a far greater degree than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/many-women-tend-toward-the-interdependent-end-of-things-we-tend-to/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [The independents are the ones who tend to commit suicide. I'm not against this way of being in the world. Individuals have brought us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/the-independents-are-the-ones-who-tend-to-commit-suicide-i-m-not/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [“In truth, he had always considered the sight of men eating croissants slightly ridiculous, especially at the beginning, when for the first bite they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/in-truth-he-had-always-considered-the-sight-of-men-eating-croissants/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [I'm trying to give people an idea of what black looks like and what white looks like before I introduce them to gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/i-m-trying-to-give-people-an-idea-of-what-black-looks-like-and-what/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [“Plain boiled food, plain boiled thinking. Even his name is plain boiled: John. Maybe because I grew up with black bean sauce and hoisin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/plain-boiled-food-plain-boiled-thinking-even-his-name-is-plain-boiled/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-history/gish-jen/#itemlist", "name": "1 Looking History Quotes By Gish Jen", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was like a nation in crisis, looking back, and back and back — its history might be ugly, but its past shone perfect.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gish Jen" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-back-and-back-and-back-its/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/gish-jen-21997_history_he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-b_1533598.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/gish-jen-21997_history_he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-b_1533598.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/gish-jen-21997_history_he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-b_1533598.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was like a nation in crisis, looking back, and back and back — its history might be ugly, but its past…” — Gish Jen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-history/gish-jen/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-history/gish-jen/", "name": "Looking History Quotes by Gish Jen", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-history/gish-jen/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/gish-jen-21997_history_he-was-like-a-nation-in-crisis-looking-b_1533598.png" }, "description": "1 Looking History quotes by Gish Jen. 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