1. What does freedom truly mean? Is it simply escaping one cage only to find oneself in an even larger one? Aren't we all like caged birds, unable to escape the enveloping society and environment no matter how we fly? Freedom is merely a figment of our imagination; we will ultimately never find it. And without society, we have no freedom. —Haruki Murakami, *1Q84*
2. I must become a composed adult. No emotional outbursts, no secret longings, no looking back. I always thought people aged gradually, but it's not true; people age in an instant. —Haruki Murakami, *Dance Dance Dance*
3. In short, life is long, but worth the wait.
—Haruki Murakami, *If Our Language Was Whiskey*
4. In youth, even penniless and destitute, we enjoy life. When there were no trains, she, the cat, and I lay on the tracks, so quiet it felt like sitting at the bottom of a lake. We were young, newly married, and the sunshine was free.
—Haruki Murakami, *Meeting the Perfect Girl*
5. In our youth, we pursue passion; in maturity, we become enamored with mediocrity. After searching, hurting, and betraying, to still believe in love as always—that takes courage. Everyone has their own forest; those who are lost remain lost, and those destined to meet will meet again. —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
6. The beautiful fantasies held by those who have lost their minds are utterly nonexistent in the real world.
—Haruki Murakami, *What I Talk About When I Talk About Running*
7. "I am an empty shell." "Truly an empty shell, utterly devoid of anything." "—Haruki Murakami, *All God's Children Dance*
8. I just wanted to build a comfortable room there where I could feel at peace—to save myself. At the same time, I hoped it could also become a comfortable place for others to live in, where they could feel at peace. —Haruki Murakami, *Hear the Wind Sing*
9. I gradually came to understand that profundity is not the same as approaching the truth. —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
10. I am no longer a teenager; I feel the responsibility on my shoulders. Hey, Kizuki, I am no longer the person I was when I was with you; I am twenty years old! I must pay a corresponding price for my continued existence! —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
11. Hearts are not only united through harmony, but also through pain, which allows them to merge more deeply. Pain and pain, vulnerability and vulnerability, connect hearts. In every tranquility, there lies a cry of sorrow; behind every forgiveness, blood is spilled; every acceptance is accompanied by painful loss. This is what true harmony resides in. —Haruki Murakami, *Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage*
12. Don't pity yourself; pity yourself is the act of a despicable coward. —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
13. Where there is hope, there is hardship. —Haruki Murakami, *1Q84*
14. "What will not be forgotten will never be forgotten, and what will be forgotten is useless to keep!" —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
15. There is no such thing as a perfect article, just as there is no such thing as utter despair. —Haruki Murakami, *Hear the Wind Sing*
16. When it's time to climb, aim for the highest tower and reach the top; when it's time to descend, find the deepest well and go to the bottom.
—Haruki Murakami, *The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle*
17. Jealousy is the most despairing prison in the world. Because it's a prison where the prisoner confines himself, not by force, but by walking in himself, locking the door from the inside, and throwing the key out the bars. And no one in the world knows he's imprisoned there. Of course, if he decides to leave, he can leave. Because that prison is in his heart. But he can't make that decision. His heart becomes as hard as stone. That's the essence of jealousy. —Haruki Murakami, *Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage*
18. Humans are born destined to lose everything, to disappear, to completely disappear into nothingness, entering through the entrance and leaving through the exit. If this process is long, who wouldn't yearn for a warm passage? —Haruki Murakami, *Dance Dance Dance*
19. Just right, seeing your happiness, I am happy for your happiness. —Haruki Murakami
20. Everyone has their own forest; those who are lost remain lost, and those destined to meet will meet again.
21. For lovers, the other's heart is the best home.
22. Death is not the opposite of life, but exists eternally as part of life. —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
23. In most cases, what attracts people's attention is less about physical appearance in a static state and more about the elegance and naturalness of a spirited expression. —Haruki Murakami, *1Q84*
24. A gentleman is one who does not do what he wants to do, but what he ought to do. —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
25. "Like in *The Brothers Karamazov*, there's a story of the devil and Christ," said Aomame. "Christ was undergoing rigorous training in the wilderness, and the devil demanded that he perform a miracle, that he turn stones into bread. But Christ refused. Because miracles are the devil's temptation." "——Haruki Murakami, 1Q84"
26. "Our normality lies in our understanding of our own abnormality." —Haruki Murakami, *Norwegian Wood*
27. Thus we learned how cruel the world can be, and at the same time, how gentle and beautiful it can be. —Haruki Murakami, *Kafka on the Shore*
30. I may be defeated, I may lose myself, I may never reach anywhere, I may have lost everything, and no matter how I struggle, I can only cry out in vain, I may just be futilely gathering a handful of ashes from ruins, and I alone am kept in the dark, perhaps no one here has placed their bets on me. It doesn't matter. One thing is clear: at least I have something worth waiting for, something worth seeking. —Haruki Murakami, *The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle*
31. If we only suffer attacks without fighting back, we can only stagnate. A chronic sense of powerlessness is corrosive. —Haruki Murakami, *1Q84*
32. I am who I am, not someone else, and this is an important asset to me. The wounds to the soul are the price we have to pay to the world for this self-reliance. —Haruki Murakami, *What I Talk About When I Talk About Running*
33. Between great sorrow and great joy, after laughter and tears, I experienced unprecedented pain and happiness. Life lured me deeper into its embrace with an unprecedented happiness and beauty.
34. Although the world has such vast space, the space to accommodate you—though only a tiny bit—is nowhere to be found.
Reflections: Holding a beautiful feeling for people may be somewhat melancholic, but it was the starting point of my literary journey. Later, I understood that this feeling could only be kept in my heart; for ordinary people, expressing love is a luxury. Life is not mathematics, requiring symbols, abstraction, logic, deduction, reasoning… Life is literature. What exactly is the ability to appreciate language? What is talent? In the end, it all boils down to emotion. In my view, a person without emotion is not qualified to discuss literature, nor is a person who only understands worldly affairs and vulgar emotions. Those who love literature often love cats, because their hearts overflow with this beautiful tenderness. Murakami is someone who deeply loves music and cats.
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