82 Quotes by Mo Yan

Wind, then rain, and then the blue sky.

My grandmother once told me that while there is no suffering a person cannot endure, there is plenty of good fortune one can never hope to enjoy. I believe that.

When I write, I try to represent the ordinary person in the pew, which means that, ironically, I’m qualified to write about prayer by being unqualified!

I’ll continue on the path I’ve been taking, feet on the ground, describing people’s lives, describing people’s emotions, writing from the standpoint of the ordinary people.

I have nothing but admiration for myself as a youngster; I was a force to be reckoned with then, a much finer specimen than I am now. As kids, we had little meat on our bones; we were sticklike figures with big rounded bellies, the skin stretched so taut it was nearly transparent – you could just about see our intestines twist and coil on the other side. Our necks were so long and thin it was a miracle they could support our heavy heads.

Prosperity and comfort are what people seek, but the costs to character are often terrifying.

The young must not scoff at the old, for flowers don’t bloom forever.

Are women really wonderful things? Maybe they are. Yes, women are wonderful things, but when all is said and done, they aren’t really “things.

Strong winds eventually cease, unhappy families return to peace.