When the written and spoken word is censored, the urban landscape becomes a nation's only physical link to the past. — 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
