--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If literature is to transcend political…" description: "\"If literature is to transcend political interference and return to being a testimony of man and his existential predicament, it needs first to break aw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/gao-xingjian-6987_books_if-literature-is-to-transcend-political_2346932.jpg" --- # If literature is to transcend political interference and… ![“If literature is to transcend political interference and return to being a testimony of man and his existential predicament, it needs first to break away from ideology. To be without "isms," is to return to the individual and to return to viewing the world through the eyes of the writer, an…” quote by Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/gao-xingjian-6987_books_if-literature-is-to-transcend-political_2346932.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/gao-xingjian-6987_books_if-literature-is-to-transcend-political_2346932.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/gao-xingjian-6987_books_if-literature-is-to-transcend-political_2346932.jpg) > “If literature is to transcend political interference and return to being a testimony of man and his existential predicament, it needs first to break away from ideology. To be without "isms," is to return to the individual and to return to viewing the world through the eyes of the writer, an individual who relies on his own perceptions and does not act as a spokesman for the people. The people already have rulers and election campaigners speaking in their name.” [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature must shed ideology to reveal individual human experience. **In simple terms:** Free from doctrine, writing reflects personal truth. Key Takeaway Write from personal perception, not as a spokesperson. Themes authenticity individualism politics Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - essay writing - novel creation - academic critique Key Concepts existentialism ideology artistic freedom Questions to Reflect On - How can writers balance truth and bias? - What role does ideology play in your reading? A Different Perspective Pure objectivity is impossible; personal bias remains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-ideology-5699906/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Ideology Isms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology-isms-5699905/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Interference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interference/) [Isms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isms/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Predicaments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predicaments/) [Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) [Testimony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testimony/) [Through the eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/through-the-eyes/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The problems of financing the universities and their intellectual freedom, threatened by political and bureaucratic interference, are problems which are invariant under the ism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-lang/the-problems-of-financing-the-universities-and-their-intellectual/) [Serge Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-lang/) > [Central to Jungian psychology is the concept of "individuation," the process whereby a person discovers and evolves his Self, as opposed to his ego.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/central-to-jungian-psychology-is-the-concept-of-individuation-the/) [Morris Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-berman/) > [I"m often accused of being irreligious, and I suppose it's for this very reason. 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Cameras care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smithson/a-camera-is-wild-in-just-about-anybody-s-hands-therefore-one-must-set/) [Robert Smithson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smithson/) > [Patriotism. I'm uncomfortable with any word that starts with a pat, ends in an ism and has a riot in the middle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/patriotism-i-m-uncomfortable-with-any-word-that-starts-with-a-pat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Melissa McCarthy just opened this new movie, 'Identity Thief,' and Rex Reed, who's a known critic, wrote a scathing commentary on her weight. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-gad/melissa-mccarthy-just-opened-this-new-movie-identity-thief-and-rex/) [Josh Gad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-gad/) ## More by Gao Xingjian > [“When a man gets to middle age shouldn’t he look for a peaceful and stable existence, find a not-too-demanding sort of a job, stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t-he-look-for-a-peaceful-and/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [Literature transcends national boundaries, racial boundaries. It goes deep into the issues that concern all human beings. That is why, when people read Greek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/literature-transcends-national-boundaries-racial-boundaries-it-goes/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [I hadn't originally intended to do any reading, what if I did read one book more or one book less, whether I read or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/i-hadn-t-originally-intended-to-do-any-reading-what-if-i-did-read-one/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [If you're not perfectly conscious of yourself, that self can be tyrannical; in relationship to others, anyone can become a tyrant. That's why no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/if-you-re-not-perfectly-conscious-of-yourself-that-self-can-be/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [Since childhood, I'd dreamed of making a film, but producers in France and Germany wanted to make commercial films with chinoiserie. I refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/since-childhood-i-d-dreamed-of-making-a-film-but-producers-in-france/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [Literature hasn't come up with any new themes. The literature of all different times - it's still dealing with how one resolves issues of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/literature-hasn-t-come-up-with-any-new-themes-the-literature-of-all/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [“Yours is much worse than Eastern! You’ve slapped together travel notes, moralistic ramblings, feelings, notes, jottings, untheoretical discussions, unfable-like fables, copied out some folk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/yours-is-much-worse-than-eastern-you-ve-slapped-together-travel-notes/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [The enterprise of describing something in language that has never been described before is a very difficult thing to do. When you decide to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/the-enterprise-of-describing-something-in-language-that-has-never/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [When I completed writing 'Soul Mountain,' I more or less closed the accounts with China for myself. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If literature is to transcend political interference and return to being a testimony of man and his existential predicament, it needs first to break away from ideology. 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