1. The most taboo thing in the world is perfection. Look at the moon in the sky; once it's full, it immediately begins to wane. The fruit on the tree, once ripe, immediately falls. Everything must have a slight imperfection to endure.
—Mo Yan, *Sandalwood Death*2. In life, we are destined to suffer many grievances. The more successful a person is, the more grievances they will endure. To make your life valuable and vibrant, you cannot care too much about grievances; you cannot let them tighten your heart or disrupt your life. You must learn to laugh them off, to transcend them, and to transform potential energy. The wise understand forbearance, forgive those around them, and grow stronger through tolerance.
3. Compared to science, literature is indeed not very useful, but perhaps its greatest use is precisely its lack of use. Education is the same. So-called grades, degrees, and even knowledge are not the essence of education. The essence of education is: one tree shaking another tree, one cloud pushing another cloud, one soul awakening another soul.
—Mo Yan, "The Nobel Prize in Literature Award Ceremony"
4. A person who is not easily moved, once moved, will cause the earth to split and mountains to crumble, burning himself to ashes. The person he loves will also be burned to the point of unbearable pain by this raging fire.
—"Our Jing Ke"
5. So-called love is actually a serious illness. My illness is about to be cured.
—Mo Yan, "Frog"
6. If there were no fine wine in the world, what would be the point of a man's life? If men did not love beauty, what would be the point of a woman's hope? If marriage was only for procreation, what would be the point of living? If men and women were both well-behaved, what would be the point of writers' work? If literature did not depict wine and women, what would be the point of reading it? If men were not obsessed with wine and women, who would be willing to suffer? If neither wine nor women could move one's heart, wouldn't life come to an end? —Mo Yan, "Ode to Wine and Women"
7. This is how everything in the world is: small evils and monsters are hated, while great evils and monsters are revered.
—Mo Yan, *Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out*
8. A person sheds tears because of pain; a person feels pain because they care; a person cares because they have feelings; a person has feelings simply because they are human! Therefore, if you have feelings, care, have felt pain, and have shed tears, it means you are a complete person.
9. People in the 1950s were relatively pure, people in the 1960s were extremely fanatical, people in the 1970s were quite timid, people in the 1980s were observant, and people in the 1990s were extremely wicked.
—Mo Yan, *Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out
* 10. When everyone is crying, some people should be allowed not to cry; when crying becomes a performance, some people should be allowed not to cry even more.
11. This concept of kinship sounds sacred, but upon closer inspection, so-called kinship is all based on the relationship of men and women sleeping together. —Mo Yan, *Big Breasts and Wide Hips*
12. Extremely exaggerated language is a reflection of an extremely hypocritical society, and violent language is the precursor to social atrocities.
—Mo Yan
, *Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out* 13. Child, in this world, many grand and glorious things are done in the dark.
—Mo Yan, *Big Breasts and Wide Hips*
14. Eagles are also interested in corpses; they are also scavengers, but they do not mingle with crows, maintaining a hypocritical and arrogant attitude. —Mo Yan, *Big Breasts and Wide Hips*
15. A guilty person cannot and has no right to die. He must live, endure torment and suffering, like frying a fish over and over, like simmering medicine, to atone for his sins. Only after atonement can he die with a light heart. —Mo Yan, *Frog*
16. "Why do flowers smell of blood? Because the earth is soaked in human blood." Where is this society? This is an endless, dark jungle. Where is happiness? Only a fleeting, illusory pleasure amidst the thorns of suffering.
—Mo Yan, *Big Breasts and Wide Hips*
17. Back then, Lu Xun used his pen to expose the "spectator" mentality. Some say this is a deep-seated flaw in the Chinese character, but in fact, it's not unique to the Chinese; it's a flaw in all of humanity.
18. But that's history. History is about seeing the results, not the means. Just as people only see the Great Wall of China, the pyramids of Egypt, and many other magnificent structures, but not the countless bones beneath them. In the past twenty years, the Chinese people have finally controlled the population explosion through an extreme method.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
19. A great work doesn't need to fawn over the nobility like a pet, nor bark like a pack of hyenas. It should be like a whale, swimming alone in the deep sea, breathing loudly and heavily.
20. Procreation and reproduction—how solemn yet how mundane, how serious yet how absurd.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
21. One shouldn't underestimate oneself; this is a lesson my father learned in his later years. —From *Frog*
22. Over the years, I've learned a valuable lesson: the best way to solve thorny problems is to observe the situation calmly and go with the flow. —Li Shou said.
23. I am responsible for two kinds of people: those who gave me life, and those I gave life to. I cherish two kinds of people: my loving partner and my loyal friends. I refuse two kinds of people: those who act unethically and those who lack sincerity. I treasure two kinds of people: those who lend me money and those who care about me! I stay away from two kinds of people: those who reach out for good things and those who shirk responsibility in times of difficulty.
25. Many things that once seemed sacred enough to cost you your life seem like utter nonsense today! —From *Frog*
26. People aren't afraid of making mistakes. If they can learn from and reflect on their mistakes, they become lessons. I think every young person longs for success, but success must begin with confidence, perhaps starting with a casual encouragement from family or teachers!
27. Put yourself on the dissection table, under the microscope.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
28. Every ordinary life contains a treasure. If you're willing to dig, following even the slightest hint of merit, you'll unearth a treasure that will surprise you.
29. Arrogance and humility are two contradictory yet interdependent attitudes towards life; it's hard to say which is better or worse. In fact, those who seem arrogant are actually very humble, and those who seem humble are arrogant at heart. Some people are extremely arrogant in certain aspects and at certain times, and extremely humble in other aspects and at certain times. Absolute arrogance and eternal humility probably don't exist.
—Mo Yan, *The Republic of Wine*
29. A person isn't stupid, but he gets the title of a fool; that's because he's gained immense freedom.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
30. So-called emotions are actually a kind of disease. They come quickly and go quickly; they come slowly and go slowly. But whether fast or fierce, slow or slow, once you're on this pirate ship, you'll either be badly injured or completely defeated. If you still don't understand, think of those frogs in love in the pond in spring. They croak tirelessly, neither eating nor drinking, neither sleeping nor resting, tormented by love until they are like withered branches and fallen leaves. Once they have mated, they immediately lie on their backs and die. But those frogs that are not in love can swim freely in the pond, from spring to midsummer, from midsummer to autumn, and then begin another blissful hibernation.
Jing Ke: I'd rather be a frog in love, singing my heart out, and dying joyfully, than a long-lived toad.
—Mo Yan, *Our Jing Ke*
31. Ultimately, I still believe that a writer must speak through their works, because the writer's profession dictates that writing is their most sacred duty. If someone only has the title of writer, but no novels, poems, or other literary works, then what kind of writer are they? What is a writer? Because they have written works; what is a famous writer? Because they have written works that have a huge impact; what is a great writer? Because they have written great works that can influence all of humanity. Therefore, a writer's title is built on the foundation of their works. Without works, your identity as a writer is highly questionable. Of course, I think no one is entirely thorough, and neither am I.
32. If they were beating a fiercely resisting bull, they would feel at ease, but they were beating a submissive bull, which aroused doubt in their hearts, and many ancient moral principles and many legends of gods and ghosts stirred within them. Is this still a cow? Perhaps it's a god, perhaps a Buddha. Is it enduring this suffering to enlighten those who have strayed from the right path, to awaken them?
—Mo Yan, *Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out*
33. I glanced secretly at that mercury glass mirror, and inside was a beautiful, alluring woman. I myself loved her, let alone those men. Although I was heartbroken because of my father's affair, my godfather said that the more pain I felt inside, the happier I had to appear on the surface, and I couldn't show my pathetic self to others. Okay, okay, okay, okay, look, look, look! Today, I'm going to have a good competition with the women of Gaomi City. What are the daughters of noble families, what are the daughters of Hanlin scholars? They can't compare to even a toe of mine.
—Mo Yan, *Sandalwood Death*
34. In some places, cannons roared and corpses littered the fields; in other places, singing and dancing filled the air, and the lights were dazzling. This is the world we all live in.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
35. Don't think that everyone in the world cares about your affairs. Do you think everyone is watching you? Actually, everyone has their own troubles, and nobody cares about yours.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
36. A person who believes they have committed a crime will always try to comfort themselves, just like Xianglin's wife in Lu Xun's well-known novel *The New Year's Sacrifice*, who donated the threshold. A sane person shouldn't expose her delusion, but give her a glimmer of hope, let her find relief, let her stop having nightmares, let her live like someone without guilt. I conformed to them, even trying to believe that what they believed was the right choice. Although I know that those with scientific minds will laugh at me, those standing on moral high ground will criticize me, and even some enlightened individuals will accuse me to the relevant authorities, I don't want to change. For this child, for my aunt and Little Lion, two women who have worked in special professions, I'd rather remain ignorant like this.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
37. Feigning madness is a bright red fig leaf; cover your face, and all the shameful things are hidden away.
—Mo Yan, *Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out
* 38. The word "rose" itself carries a bloody connotation. It can only bloom magnificently for one season, so on its path to achieving its "hidden purpose of desire," it must wreak havoc.
—Mo Yan, *Rose Torture*
39. Actually, she said, frogs aren't scary at all; humans and frogs share the same ancestor. She said: Tadpoles and human sperm are quite similar in shape, and human eggs are no different from frog eggs; besides, have you ever seen a specimen of a three-month-old baby? Dragging a long tail, it's almost identical to a frog in its metamorphosis stage.
40. She carried her wine glass into a cluttered room, opened a closet door, and saw bundles of RMB neatly stacked on one shelf, a nauseating stench wafting out. She closed the closet, took a sip of wine, and muttered to herself, "Money is the dirtiest thing in the world. No wonder important people don't touch money. Actually, I can stop touching money too. In the past ten years, have I bought anything with money? No, nothing." — Mo Yan, *Big Breasts and Wide Hips*
41. The enormous moon, the color of an apricot, sat atop the trees, making the drooping branches droop even lower. A half-mad militiaman actually fired a shot at the moon. The moon trembled, unharmed, and emitted even softer light, conveying ancient messages to me.
— Mo Yan, *Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out*
42. I loved you, skilled in swords and horses, knowledgeable in poetry and literature, a young and valiant warrior. I followed you, venturing into the world, enduring wind and rain, sleeping under the open sky, and experiencing all kinds of hardships.
—Mo Yan, *Transparent Red Radish*
43. Any dream can be born from reading, and realizing a dream also requires reading.
44. Such a life is a pity in peacetime. If he had been born a few decades earlier, he would have become a hero no matter which group he joined; if he had become a bandit, he would have been a murderous monster. But now it's peacetime, and his ruthlessness, his decisiveness, his incorruptibility seem to have little use.
—Mo Yan
, *Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out* 45. A belly full of knowledge is a donkey's skill. It easily leads to procrastination and delay.
46. A person can change the tone of their voice, but they cannot change the sound of an unconscious sneeze. A person can change their single eyelids to double eyelids, but no matter how skillful the surgery, it cannot change their eyes.
—Mo Yan, *Frog*
47. Ease and contentment are the elements that constitute happiness.
48. Under normal circumstances, a strong moral force will compel wild beasts living among humans to cover their bristling fur with beautiful clothes. A stable and peaceful society is a training ground for humanity, just as tigers, leopards, and wolves, when caged for a long time, will also acquire some human qualities.
—Mo Yan, *Red Sorghum*
49. "Godfather, in this world, there isn't just one right principle. As an official, you have your grand principles; as a commoner, I have my small principles."
—Mo Yan, *Red Sorghum*
50. For humans and demons to survive, they must break free from a series of shackles; sorrow and pessimism are humanity's most fundamental enemies.
—Mo Yan, *The Herbivore Family*
51. Sometimes I have a sudden thought that the degeneration of the human race is related to increasingly affluent and comfortable living conditions. However, the pursuit of affluent and comfortable living conditions is both a goal that humanity strives for and an inevitable goal, which inevitably creates a profound and chilling contradiction. Humanity is using its own efforts to eliminate some of its excellent qualities. —Mo Yan, *Red Sorghum*
52. The ease of obtaining sex makes people lose the ability to fall in love.
—Mo Yan, *Humanity's Good Days Are Numbered*
53. Alas, this is truly a meticulously planned masterpiece! Heroic spirit, beautiful women…it lacks no element, it's done, it's done, it's become famous… —Mo Yan, *Our Jing Ke*
54. Yesterday, my mother, carrying the child left behind by Bird Han and Shangguan Laidi, saw me off at the village entrance. She said, “Golden Boy, it's the same old saying: the more bitter the situation, the more you must grit your teeth and live on. Pastor Maloya said that the thick Bible talks about this over and over again. Don't worry about me; I'm like an earthworm, I can live as long as there's soil.”
—Mo Yan, *Big Breasts and Wide Hips*
55. As long as your heart is pure, no amount of filth can stick to you. —Mo Yan, *Mangrove Forest*
56. Fear arose involuntarily, yet a warm smile was forced from beneath my skin.
—Mo Yan, *The Herbivore*
57. Yan Ji, let me take one last look at your beautiful face while this auspicious time continues. Let me kiss your delicate cherry lips one more time, let me inhale the fragrance of your hair one more time. Tomorrow, I will have a practical demonstration before the Crown Prince, and the day after tomorrow, I will embark on my long journey. Yan Ji, at this moment, I am neither that cold-blooded assassin nor that aloof knight-errant. At this moment, I am a person of flesh and blood, a man experiencing physical intimacy for the first time in my life. For three months, you gave a brilliant performance on the first day, and then you became taciturn. During the day, you would occasionally utter a few inscrutable, sarcastic words, but at night, you became a clay puppet with only flesh and no soul. When I kiss you, it is like kissing a block of ice; even my tongue and lips become stiff. When I hold you, it is like holding a block of iron, so stiff, so heavy; making my arms numb and sore. You seem to obey me in everything, but your heart is like a stone in a burrow; your soul wanders in a faraway place; like a kite that is difficult to catch.
—Mo Yan, *Our Jing Ke*
58. The process of love is the process of turning blood into tar-colored excrement; the expression of love is two bloodied and mangled people lying together; the ending of love is two popsicles with wide-open gray-white eyes.
—Mo Yan, *Red Sorghum Family*
59. In this city, I'm either a hedgehog or a tortoise; if I'm neither a hedgehog nor a tortoise, I'm especially afraid of people laughing at me.
—Mo Yan, *The Herbivorous Family*
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