--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People in misery is what most important…" description: "\"People in misery is what most important in art.\" — Zhang Yimou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/zhang-yimou-25913_art_people-in-misery-is-what-most-important_1119951.jpg" --- # People in misery is what most important in art. ![“People in misery is what most important in art.” quote by Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/zhang-yimou-25913_art_people-in-misery-is-what-most-important_1119951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/zhang-yimou-25913_art_people-in-misery-is-what-most-important_1119951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/zhang-yimou-25913_art_people-in-misery-is-what-most-important_1119951.jpg) > “People in misery is what most important in art.” [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should prioritize portraying human suffering as a central focus **In simple terms:** Art values human suffering Key Takeaway Highlight suffering in creative work Themes art human condition empathy Mood somber reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - documentary filmmaking - theatre - visual arts - social activism Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on misery affect audience perception? - Can art balance suffering with resilience? A Different Perspective May overlook joy or hope in art ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm tired of being responsible for other people's misery. I can't even put up with my own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-m-tired-of-being-responsible-for-other-people-s-misery-i-can-t-even/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [I follow married people because misery loves company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-follow-married-people-because-misery-loves-company/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Miserable people take misery every where they go. Happy people take happy everywhere they go. Who are you? Dont let misery fuck with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-wayans/miserable-people-take-misery-every-where-they-go-happy-people-take/) [Marlon Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-wayans/) > [“Only miserable people give misery to others. A happy person will give (only) happiness to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/only-miserable-people-give-misery-to-others-a-happy-person-will-give/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Do not feel sorry for the bad luck of people, because behind everyone’s misery is their own stupidity and laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/do-not-feel-sorry-for-the-bad-luck-of-people-because-behind-everyone/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“Sometimes it's hard not to let other people's misery seep into your own bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilly-macmillan/sometimes-it-s-hard-not-to-let-other-people-s-misery-seep-into-your/) [Gilly Macmillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilly-macmillan/) > [“The estate had always been this way. A parade of people, joined together by tedium and curiosity, passing other people’s misery around between themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-cannon/the-estate-had-always-been-this-way-a-parade-of-people-joined/) [Joanna Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-cannon/) > [There is little consolation in the fact that millions of people are unhappier than we are. Why should other people's misery make us happier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/there-is-little-consolation-in-the-fact-that-millions-of-people-are/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [The history of country music is as important as any other art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-stuart/the-history-of-country-music-is-as-important-as-any-other-art-form/) [Marty Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-stuart/) > [Life is more important than art - quantity is only important in that the amount of activity is greater not the number of works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swift/life-is-more-important-than-art-quantity-is-only-important-in-that/) [Patrick Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swift/) > [Thought is more important than art…To revere art and have no understanding of the process that forces it into existence, is finally not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/thought-is-more-important-than-art-to-revere-art-and-have-no/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Opera is one of the most important art forms. It should be listened to and appreciated by everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/opera-is-one-of-the-most-important-art-forms-it-should-be-listened-to/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [I think that limitations are the most important part of any art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-von-trier/i-think-that-limitations-are-the-most-important-part-of-any-art-form/) [Lars von Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-von-trier/) > [Time is not important, but art is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-betts/time-is-not-important-but-art-is/) Edward Betts > [The most important thing about Jazz at Lincoln Center is the fact that it's the first time that perhaps the most important art form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-vinoly/the-most-important-thing-about-jazz-at-lincoln-center-is-the-fact/) [Rafael Vinoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-vinoly/) ## More by Zhang Yimou > [You must know what you are capable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/you-must-know-what-you-are-capable-of/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [This is my first wuxia movie and I must consider this before trying to make something with my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/this-is-my-first-wuxia-movie-and-i-must-consider-this-before-trying/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [The so-called commercialism includes elements like story, plots, rhythms and large big scenes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/the-so-called-commercialism-includes-elements-like-story-plots/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [Wuxia is a fantasy world exists in everyone's mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/wuxia-is-a-fantasy-world-exists-in-everyone-s-mind/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [People have become shallower. They view spending, entertaining, seeking leisure and enjoying as the main objectives of their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/people-have-become-shallower-they-view-spending-entertaining-seeking/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [For over ten years I always had, but I don't speak English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/for-over-ten-years-i-always-had-but-i-don-t-speak-english/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [To do art, one thing should always remember - subjects of people in misery have deep meanings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/to-do-art-one-thing-should-always-remember-subjects-of-people-in/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [To survive is to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/to-survive-is-to-win/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [I'm not Ang Lee who knows so much about western market and the taste of western audiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/i-m-not-ang-lee-who-knows-so-much-about-western-market-and-the-taste/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [I must stick with Chinese language films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/i-must-stick-with-chinese-language-films/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [Piracy has destroyed the domestic market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/piracy-has-destroyed-the-domestic-market/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [HERO is a combination of my personal feeling and the commercialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/hero-is-a-combination-of-my-personal-feeling-and-the-commercialism/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [Under the big political umbrella, a man is just like a leaf in the ocean, with no control of his destiny and does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/under-the-big-political-umbrella-a-man-is-just-like-a-leaf-in-the/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [I am a fan of wuxia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/i-am-a-fan-of-wuxia/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [Only people have been through that miserable time will recall the pass from their deep memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/only-people-have-been-through-that-miserable-time-will-recall-the/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) [Explore all 22 Zhang Yimou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) ## 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. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. 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 > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People in misery is what most important in art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zhang Yimou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/people-in-misery-is-what-most-important-in-art/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/people-in-misery-is-what-most-important-in-art/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/zhang-yimou-25913_art_people-in-misery-is-what-most-important_1119951.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/zhang-yimou-25913_art_people-in-misery-is-what-most-important_1119951.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/zhang-yimou-25913_art_people-in-misery-is-what-most-important_1119951.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People in misery is what most important in art.” — Zhang Yimou", "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": "Zhang Yimou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People in misery is what most...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/people-in-misery-is-what-most-important-in-art/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/people-in-misery-is-what-most-important-in-art/#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 } } ] } ```