Anchee Min quotes

The self was a very strange concept to me until I came to America, and my child was born with that entitlement, and that just thrilled me. (Anchee Min)
To be able to do art, it was a luxury to me. View quote
Anchee Min
If one wants to get a boat ride, one must be near the river. View quote
Anchee Min
If you can't go back to your mother's womb, you'd better learn to be a good fighter. View quote
Anchee Min
My goal was to do anything that would lead to a job. I know that writing would not lead to a job. It's too fancy for me. My biggest goal was to be an office receptionist, answer phones. I didn't expect to go beyond that. View quote
Anchee Min
I understood that without English I would never get far, so my dream was to become a receptionist, and so I started to learn English from watching 'Sesame Street.' View quote
Anchee Min
When Chinese get together - what's buried stays buried. We don't even discuss our embarrassing early days struggling in Chicago. View quote
Anchee Min
When I first came to America, you know, I would look at the newsstands and see the women on the magazine covers. I had never seen anyone smile the way these girls smile! It's like they have nothing to worry about! View quote
Anchee Min
lack of will power leads to more failure than lack of intelligence or ability. View quote
Anchee Min
We were meant to survive because of our minds' ability to reason, our ability to live with frustration in order to maintain our virtue. We wore smiling masks while dying inside. View quote
Anchee Min
Do you know who Karl Marx is? He is this strange little man, long dead, who lived his narrow little life, and somehow managed by the power of his wayward brain to lay hold upon millions of human lives! (Anchee Min)
My mind swirled with memories of the life I had led. The constant struggle to keep up appearances, the pretenses, the smiles that had been met with tears. The long sleepless nights, the loneliness that cloaked my spirit and turned me into a true ghost. View quote
Anchee Min
my mother was taught the ch'an concept of happiness, which was to find satisfaction in small things. i was taught to appreciate the fresh air in the morning, the colour of leaves turning red in autumn and the water's smoothness when i soaked my hands in the basin. View quote
Anchee Min
The sun doesn't just hang on one family's tree. View quote
Anchee Min
I was happy not to be in his place. He could command my death, but not his. But then, what kind of power was his? He was a prisoner of himself. View quote
Anchee Min
No matter how American I become, I'm considered part of the Chinese community by my own family. View quote
Anchee Min
There have been 50 or 60 books written about Empress Orchid, but none of them bothered to really examine the period in China when she lived. I was taught that she was evil; it's in all the textbooks. View quote
Anchee Min
Of course I have the license to make up things, but I think a lot of what's written about China is misleading, and most Americans don't know much about China, in-depth, even though China is such a crucial business partner, rival, whatever. View quote
Anchee Min
I cultivate my Chinese garden in the middle of an American town...I love China with all my heart and soul, although I feel fortunate to have escaped it. View quote
Anchee Min
There are a lot of things that immigrants, especially Chinese-Americans, want to share with their children, but there are a lot of things they don't want to share. View quote
Anchee Min
I had no expectations. I thought, "If I don't make it, it's my own fault.” In China I had to suffer and labour for the Communist Party – here I was given the opportunity to suffer and labour for myself and to build my own life. I chose to look at the glass half full – I think that's a very immigrant attitude. (Anchee Min)