--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think it's worth discussing new…" description: "\"I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new_123948.png" --- # I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the… ![“I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any clear orientation.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new_123948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new_123948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/ai-weiwei-824_art_i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new_123948.png) > “I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any clear orientation.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chinese art lacks a fixed historical direction; it has always been fluid, without a single, clear trajectory. **In simple terms:** Chinese art is historically directionless. Key Takeaway Artistic traditions can be non‑linear. Themes art history culture Chinese art creativity Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - museum curation - art education - cross‑cultural collaborations Key Concepts non‑linear development cultural fluidity Practical Applications - encourage diverse artistic voices - avoid imposing singular narratives Questions to Reflect On - How does one define 'direction' in art? - Can a culture have both continuity and fluidity? A Different Perspective Some periods, like the Song dynasty, exhibit distinct aesthetic trends, challenging the claim of total directionlessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese/) [Chinese art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese-art/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Context Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/context-chinese-1438644/) [Directions Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directions-chinese-1438642/) [Discussing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussing/) [Discussing New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussing-new-1438643/) [New directions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-directions/) [Orientation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orientation/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Our singer, Matt, was reading Stephen Hawking and other physics-related books, and I was reading entrepreneurial books, and we all started discussing the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/synyster-gates/our-singer-matt-was-reading-stephen-hawking-and-other-physics-related/) [Synyster Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/synyster-gates/) > [To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/to-call-yourself-a-chinese-artist-or-woman-artist-or-african-artist/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Because Chinese art is booming, it legitimizes this profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/because-chinese-art-is-booming-it-legitimizes-this-profession/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [So-called Chinese art and culture is under control of the Party. They exist to serve the official agenda. I call it fake art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/so-called-chinese-art-and-culture-is-under-control-of-the-party-they/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [The Chinese art world does not exist. In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/the-chinese-art-world-does-not-exist-in-a-society-that-restricts/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [All the rich people collect traditional Chinese art. So it's very natural for Chinese families to still see art as the highest human performance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/all-the-rich-people-collect-traditional-chinese-art-so-it-s-very/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I lived there \[ in New York City\] as an artist, but never as a Chinese artist. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-lived-there-in-new-york-city-as-an-artist-but-never-as-a-chinese/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. 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You follow the change of the seasons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-m-getting-more-and-more-into-chinese-art-and-japanese-some-of-those/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [Traditional Chinese art looked at the Earth from a Confucian mountain top; Japanese art looked closely around screens; Italian Renaissance art surveyed conquered nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/traditional-chinese-art-looked-at-the-earth-from-a-confucian-mountain/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Some prescient American collectors, including Vicki and Kent Logan and Mera and Donald Rubell, began collecting Chinese art before 2000 with a genuine passion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/some-prescient-american-collectors-including-vicki-and-kent-logan-and/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) ## More by Ai Weiwei > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-has-a-rich-history-that-has-spanned-millennia-it-consists-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-world-should-be-much-more-open-and-should-be-much-more-free-so/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/by-participating-in-the-society-we-live-in-we-understand-our/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/it-doesn-t-matter-where-i-am-china-will-stay-in-me-i-don-t-know-how/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/chinese-citizens-have-never-had-the-right-to-really-express-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/your-own-acts-tell-the-world-who-you-are-and-what-kind-of-society-you/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/our-lives-are-bound-by-physical-limits-familial-ties-political/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Now I've come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/now-i-ve-come-to-such-a-mixed-culture-america-europe-south-america/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-am-very-much-interested-in-the-so-called-useless-object-i-mean-it/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) [Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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