--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If literature truly possesses a…" description: "\"“If literature truly possesses a mysterious power, I think perhaps it is precisely this: that one can read a book by a writer of a different time, a di..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/yu-hua-27202_books_if-literature-truly-possesses-a-mysterio_2018324.jpg" --- # If literature truly possesses a mysterious power, I think… ![“If literature truly possesses a mysterious power, I think perhaps it is precisely this: that one can read a book by a writer of a different time, a different country, a different race, a different language, and a different culture and there encounter a sensation that is one's very own.” quote by Yu Hua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/yu-hua-27202_books_if-literature-truly-possesses-a-mysterio_2018324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/yu-hua-27202_books_if-literature-truly-possesses-a-mysterio_2018324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/yu-hua-27202_books_if-literature-truly-possesses-a-mysterio_2018324.jpg) > ““If literature truly possesses a mysterious power, I think perhaps it is precisely this: that one can read a book by a writer of a different time, a different country, a different race, a different language, and a different culture and there encounter a sensation that is one's very own.”” [Yu Hua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yu-hua/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading across time and culture lets us experience others’ lives, creating a shared human sensation that feels personal. **In simple terms:** Reading diverse books lets us feel others’ experiences as our own. Key Takeaway Seek stories from varied backgrounds. Themes empathy diversity connection identity Mood curious hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - school curricula - online forums - travel writing Key Concepts cultural exchange personal growth global awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does literature bridge cultural gaps? - What challenges arise when reading foreign texts? A Different Perspective Language barriers may limit access to some works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Power of words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-of-words/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“So things remained until one day, many years later, I happened upon a line in a poem by Heine: “Death is the cooling night.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yu-hua/so-things-remained-until-one-day-many-years-later-i-happened-upon-a/) [Yu Hua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yu-hua/) > [A face which is always serene possesses a mysterious and powerful attraction: sad hearts come to it as to the sun to warm themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philibert-joseph-roux/a-face-which-is-always-serene-possesses-a-mysterious-and-powerful/) [Philibert Joseph Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philibert-joseph-roux/) > [What matters in the end in literature, what is always there, is the truly good. 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If you don't want to live, you have to ask them first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yu-hua/your-life-is-given-to-you-by-your-parents-if-you-don-t-want-to-live/) [Yu Hua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yu-hua/) > [“People fear getting famous just as pigs fear getting fat. 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The road to the capital is long and distant; I don't want her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yu-hua/the-emperor-beckons-me-he-wants-me-to-marry-his-daughter-the-road-to/) [Yu Hua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yu-hua/) [Explore all 17 Yu Hua quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yu-hua/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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