In the end we had changed the position of the hands so many times that we had no idea what the time really was.

- Sijie Dai

It would evidently take more than a political regime, more than dire poverty to stop a woman from wanting to be well-dressed: it was a desire as old …

- Sijie Dai

Our imagination is dictated by who we are. (198)

- Sijie Dai

A name with a gently exotic ring to it, like birdsong, like a grain of sand in the far-off Gobi Desert or the northern steppes, whipped up by the win…

- Sijie Dai

Calligraphy may well be simply an artistic version of another form, that is the ideograms which make up the poem, but then not only does it reflect t…

- Sijie Dai

I was carried away, swept along by the mighty stream of words pouring from the hundreds of pages. To me it was the ultimate book: once you had read i…

- Sijie Dai

In Chinese love stories the one who loves always starts by borrowing a book from the beloved.

- Sijie Dai

Without him (Jean-Christophe) I would never have understood the splendour of taking free andindependent action as an individual. Up until this stolen…

- Sijie Dai

A woman's beauty is a treasure beyond price.

- Sijie Dai