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Ma Jian Quotes

Powerful Ma Jian for Daily Growth

About Ma Jian

Ma Jian (马建), born on July 31, 1953, in Shandong Province, China, is a renowned Chinese writer, activist, and filmmaker. His real name is Wang Anyi (王安奕), but he adopted the pen name Ma Jian after the Tang Dynasty poet, Ma Zhujian (马朱坚). Ma Jian's literary career began in the late 1970s when China embarked on its path of reform and opening-up. Ma Jian's formative years were marked by tumultuous political events, including the Cultural Revolution, which left an indelible impact on his worldview. His writing is characterized by its bold exploration of taboo subjects, particularly the harsh realities of life under Communist rule in China. His first novel, "The Barn Swallow" (1980), was a semi-autobiographical account of his experiences during the Cultural Revolution. The book, however, was not published until 1987 due to censorship. His subsequent works, such as "In Search of Homeland" (1990) and " Beijing Coma" (2008), continued to challenge the status quo, earning him both critical acclaim and official reprimand. Ma Jian's most influential work is arguably "The Dark Road" (1987), a novel that delves into the psychological trauma of the Cultural Revolution through the experiences of a young orphan named Xiao Wu. The book was banned in China but gained international recognition, earning Ma Jian the prestigious Man Booker International Prize in 2005. In addition to his writing, Ma Jian has also made significant contributions to film and theater. He co-wrote the screenplay for "Red Sorghum" (1987), a critically acclaimed movie directed by Zhang Yimou. His play, "The Underground Library," premiered in London's West End in 2014. Today, Ma Jian lives in exile due to his political activism and continues to write and advocate for human rights, freedom of speech, and artistic expression.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The only people who have nothing to hide have nothing to live for."

This quote by Ma Jian suggests that those who have no secrets or things to conceal might lack depth or complexity in their lives, as personal growth often involves experiencing a variety of events, feelings, and relationships that can be private or confidential. A life without such experiences could seem empty or unfulfilling. The quote implies that privacy and secrecy are essential for a rich, vibrant human existence.

"Artists are like sewer pipes: necessary, unsightly, and often filled with shit."

This quote by Ma Jian suggests that artists, much like functional but potentially unpleasant aspects of infrastructure such as sewers, serve a crucial role in society, despite not always being aesthetically pleasing or appreciated. The "shit" in the metaphor can symbolize the challenging, uncomfortable, or controversial work that artists produce, which may be viewed negatively by some. However, just as sewer pipes are essential for public health and hygiene, art is vital for reflecting society's complexities, provoking thought, and fostering cultural development.

"If you can't endure suffering, how can you enjoy happiness?"

The quote emphasizes a profound truth about life's experiences; it suggests that to truly appreciate the joy and beauty in life, one must be capable of withstanding its hardships and suffering. In other words, resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity are essential components for experiencing genuine happiness.

"To be free is more than just to cast off one's chains, it is to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

This quote by Ma Jian emphasizes that true freedom isn't only about personal liberation from constraints, but also about living in a manner that upholds and enriches the freedom of others. In essence, it suggests that individual freedom should not come at the expense of others, and that our actions should promote a collective and harmonious pursuit of liberty.

"The truth is always subversive."

The quote by Ma Jian, "The truth is always subversive," suggests that authentic, unvarnished reality has a natural inclination to challenge or undermine established beliefs, systems, or power structures. In other words, the genuine, raw nature of truth has the potential to upend and transform what we think we know, often leading to change and progress.

I believe that the Tibetans should have the right to control their own destinies and decide for themselves whether they want to be part of China or not. But this view isn't shared by most Chinese, or even the leaders of most Western democracies. As long as the Communist Party is in power, there is little hope for Tibet.

- Ma Jian

Own, Communist, Shared, Chinese

After the Tiananmen Massacre, I felt compelled not only to continue writing but to actively resist the restrictions placed on freedom of speech. I set up the publishing company in Hong Kong, with offices in Shenzhen in mainland China, and managed to publish works of fiction, philosophy, and politics by unapproved authors.

- Ma Jian

Politics, Placed, Works, Massacre

The Chinese people have been forced to forget the Tiananmen massacre. There has been no public debate about the event, no official apology. The media aren't allowed to mention it. Still today people are being persecuted and imprisoned for disseminating information about it.

- Ma Jian

Been, Persecuted, Forced, Massacre

When the written and spoken word is censored, the urban landscape becomes a nation's only physical link to the past.

- Ma Jian

Past, Nation, Link, Spoken Word

China is completely lacking in self-awareness and as someone who has stepped outside that society, I have a responsibility to write about it as I see it.

- Ma Jian

I See, About, Stepped, Lacking

'Three Kingdoms' gives you a panoply of different routes; everyone can find their own path. It shows that sometimes the route to fulfilment or success is not the obvious one. You must take twists and turns to achieve a goal.

- Ma Jian

Sometimes, Own, Achieve, Routes

The Beijing Olympics represent China's grand entrance onto the world stage and confirmation of its new superpower status.

- Ma Jian

New, World Stage, Olympics, Confirmation

I have to live within my memories, within my private universe, and continually return to China, the land where my thoughts are locked. This is a very painful kind of existence, this feeling of nowhereness.

- Ma Jian

Thoughts, Private, Very, Locked

The Chinese have made a faustian pact with the government, agreeing to forsake demands for political and intellectual freedom in exchange for more material comfort. They live prosperous lives in which any expression of pain is forbidden.

- Ma Jian

Pain, Expression, Which, Forsake

The great quality of the 'Three Kingdoms' is that it seems to encapsulate and portray every facet of the Chinese personality.

- Ma Jian

Personality, Chinese, Kingdoms

In my 20s, when I was a photojournalist in Beijing. I joined an underground art group and put on clandestine exhibitions of my paintings.

- Ma Jian

Art, Beijing, Joined, Group

In 1989, I was on Tiananmen Square with the students, living in their makeshift tents and joining their jubilant singing of the Internationale. In the two decades since, each time that I have gone back, visions from those days seem to return with increasing persistence.

- Ma Jian

Students, Joining, Each Time, Visions

I am trying to persuade my family to spend more time in China. It's no fun to be in exile. I can't even figure out the basic 26 letters, let alone operate, in English. I often feel that although I've found the sky of freedom above my head, I've lost the soil I stand on. I need to be back in my motherland, where I can find inspirations.

- Ma Jian

Feel, Exile, Inspirations, Motherland

In February of this year I returned to China to research my next book. The authorities know about the novels of mine that have been published in the west, including the latest one, Beijing Coma, about a student shot in Tiananmen Square, but so far have allowed me to return.

- Ma Jian

Year, Next, Been, Novels

I left Beijing in 1987, shortly before my books were banned there, but have returned continually.

- Ma Jian

Left, Before, Books, Banned

I meant that the Chinese people are not aware of their own entrapment. They believe they live in a free society, but don't realize how much they are being monitored and controlled, how much the information they receive is restricted and warped, until they step out of line, that is, and feel the heavy hand of the state fall on them.

- Ma Jian

Own, Feel, Line, Free Society

Tyrannies not only want to control your mind and thoughts but your flesh as well.

- Ma Jian

Mind, Thoughts, Want, Flesh

It is vitally important for me, both personally and for my writing, to be able to return to China freely, so being barred entry has caused me deep concern and distress.

- Ma Jian

Deep, Distress, Vitally, Freely

My hope is that the Chinese government will come to realise that it is futile to repress free speech, and that contrary to what they believe a regime's strength rests not its suppression of a plurality of opinions and ideas, but in its capacity and willingness to encourage them.

- Ma Jian

Strength, Believe, Futile, Suppression

To become self-aware, people must be allowed to hear a plurality of opinions and then make up their own minds. They must be allowed to say, write and publish whatever they want. Freedom of expression is the most basic, but fundamental, right. Without it, human beings are reduced to automatons.

- Ma Jian

Own, Allowed, Fundamental, Plurality

While I was writing 'Stick Out Your Tongue' in Beijing, the police began knocking on my door again. As soon as I finished the book, I moved to Hong Kong so that I could work undisturbed on my next novel.

- Ma Jian

Door, Tongue, Next, Knocking

I am completely in favour of dialogue and engagement. But it must be a true, open dialogue.

- Ma Jian

I Am, Dialogue, Engagement, Open

If you exile a writer, however free the country he is sent to, there will always be a sense of internal constraint.

- Ma Jian

Country, Always, However, Constraint

I wanted to analyse and understand how the Chinese people could have their lives so crushed by fear.

- Ma Jian

Could, Chinese People, Lives, Analyse

On the face of it, China has won the Olympics. But it is not China that has won, but the Communist party. The Chinese people have lost.

- Ma Jian

Communist, Chinese People, Communist Party

Red Dust was about the late 1980s; it was a time of burgeoning hopes and opening up and people searching for new ways.

- Ma Jian

New, Searching, About, Opening

I left Beijing in the late 1980s to live in Hong Kong because, having been blacklisted by the government, I couldn't publish my works on the mainland.

- Ma Jian

Been, Having, Works, Kong

When history is erased, people's moral values are also erased.

- Ma Jian

Values, Moral Values, Also, Erased

Only when you are aware of the uniqueness of everyone's individual body will you begin to have a sense of your own self-worth.

- Ma Jian

Will, Everyone, Individual, Self-Worth

Whatever China I'd been born into, I would probably still have become a painter - I loved sketching portraits as a child, and began art classes at the age 7. But if China hadn't been under Maoist rule, I might never have become a writer.

- Ma Jian

Been, Rule, Classes, Portraits

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