--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a man gets to middle age shouldn’t…" description: "\"“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 in a mediocre positi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/gao-xingjian-6987_life_when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t_84477.jpg" --- # When a man gets to middle age shouldn’t he look for a… ![“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 in a mediocre position, become a husband and a father, set up a comfortable home, put money in the bank and add to it every month so there’ll be something for old age…” quote by Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/gao-xingjian-6987_life_when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t_84477.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/gao-xingjian-6987_life_when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t_84477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/gao-xingjian-6987_life_when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t_84477.jpg) > ““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 in a mediocre position, become a husband and a father, set up a comfortable home, put money in the bank and add to it every month so there’ll be something for old age and a little left over for the next generation?”” [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. The quote questions whether conventional middle‑age goals—steady work, family, savings—truly fulfill a life’s purpose or merely serve societal expectations. **In simple terms:** Critiques the pursuit of a safe, conventional life. Key Takeaway Conformity vs. personal meaning. Themes conformity midlife purpose societal expectations legacy Mood reflective skeptical Type philosophical questioning When to use this quote - career planning - family decisions - retirement budgeting Key Concepts family career financial security Practical Applications - life‑design coaching - career counseling Questions to Reflect On - What defines a meaningful life beyond material security? - Can one find fulfillment within conventional roles? A Different Perspective A counterpoint is that stability can provide the freedom to pursue deeper passions later, rather than being a trap. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Middle age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-age/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Next generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-generation/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) ## Related quotes > [“Our children is what will be left of us in a generation that we will not be a part of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/our-children-is-what-will-be-left-of-us-in-a-generation-that-we-will/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Young people have traditionally skewed left through generation after generation after generation. Exceptions to that, of course. I am one. I never have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/young-people-have-traditionally-skewed-left-through-generation-after/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“At some point in youth an old person will tell you a harsh truth you will not believe, in middle age you will realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-a-a-savastano/at-some-point-in-youth-an-old-person-will-tell-you-a-harsh-truth-you/) [C.A.A. Savastano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-a-a-savastano/) > [“Senescence begins And middle-age ends The day your descendants Outnumber your friends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/senescence-begins-and-middle-age-ends-the-day-your-descendants/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, 'Why not?' and the other, 'Why bother?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/middle-age-is-that-perplexing-time-of-life-when-we-hear-two-voices/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [After sixty, the self-questioning of middle age is obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/after-sixty-the-self-questioning-of-middle-age-is-obsolete/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“It's that in between time Nothing really growing And nothing really dying”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-ratliff/it-s-that-in-between-time-nothing-really-growing-and-nothing-really/) [Richard L. Ratliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-ratliff/) > [“Marriage can be made to work if both the partners can see beyond themselves and understand the limitations,needs and abilities of the other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chitralekha-paul/marriage-can-be-made-to-work-if-both-the-partners-can-see-beyond/) [Chitralekha Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chitralekha-paul/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“No matter how you tell yourself It's what we all go through Those lines are pretty hard to take When they're staring back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/no-matter-how-you-tell-yourself-it-s-what-we-all-go-through-those/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [As a precocious teen I dreamed of being Graham Greene. Well, as it turned out, I never wrote a great novel, sadly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/as-a-precocious-teen-i-dreamed-of-being-graham-greene-well-as-it/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) > [None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. However, the stages of my life - motherhood, middle age, etc. -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/none-of-my-own-experiences-ever-finds-its-way-into-my-work-however/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## More by 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. I was 50 years old when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-i-completed-writing-soul-mountain-i-more-or-less-closed-the/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [I want to write a novel so profound that it would suffocate a fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/i-want-to-write-a-novel-so-profound-that-it-would-suffocate-a-fly/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [Body odour (known also as scent of the immortals) is a disgusting condition with an awful, nauseating smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/body-odour-known-also-as-scent-of-the-immortals-is-a-disgusting/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [If, while observing the boundless universe, the writer is able to scrutinise his own self as well as others, the resulting incisiveness of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/if-while-observing-the-boundless-universe-the-writer-is-able-to/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [When God talks to humans he doesn't want humans to hear his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-god-talks-to-humans-he-doesn-t-want-humans-to-hear-his-voice/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [“At the height of the Cultural Revolution, rather than risk having to face dire consequences for his accumulated writings, he burned several kilos of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/at-the-height-of-the-cultural-revolution-rather-than-risk-having-to/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [Language is inherently not concerned with logic. As an expression of the psychological activities of humankind, it simply follows a linear process as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/language-is-inherently-not-concerned-with-logic-as-an-expression-of/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [There are numerous layers to truth, and the simple and superficial statement of facts cannot satisfy the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/there-are-numerous-layers-to-truth-and-the-simple-and-superficial/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) [Explore all 91 Gao Xingjian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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 in a mediocre position, become a husband and a father, set up a comfortable home, put money in the bank and add to it every month so there’ll be something for old age and a little left over for the next generation?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gao Xingjian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t-he-look-for-a-peaceful-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t-he-look-for-a-peaceful-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/gao-xingjian-6987_life_when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t_84477.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/gao-xingjian-6987_life_when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t_84477.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/gao-xingjian-6987_life_when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t_84477.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a man gets to middle age shouldn’t he look for a peaceful and stable existence, find a…” — Gao Xingjian", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gao Xingjian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When a man gets to middle...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t-he-look-for-a-peaceful-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t-he-look-for-a-peaceful-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```