“In this cosy, noisy, gregarious world of the “all-chinese” sickbed, so different from the stark, sterile solitude of the American hospital room, her life had assumed the astounding quality of a continuous farewell party.”

I am a child of destiny who will unite East and West and change the world.

Don’t trust anyone. Be a cold fish. I hurt no one. And no one can hurt me.

I’m afraid the chances of your getting a dowry are slim.

You’ll always be expected to know Chinese, and if you don’t, I’m afraid they will not respect you as much.

But you will still look Chinese, and when people meet you, they’ll see a Chinese girl no matter how well you speak English.

To my surprise I found her cheerful and free of pain, perhaps because of the small doses of morphine she was being given.

You must rely on yourself. No matter what else people may steal from you, they will never be able to take away your knowledge.

She was surrounded by neighbours and friends who congregated at her bedside day and night.

People with yuan fen are destined to like one another

Suen Le! (it means, “Let it be.

Revenge is not worthy of you. If you concentrate on revenge, you will keep those wounds fresh that would otherwise have healed.

The future belongs to you. Should anyone insult you, tell yourself this:

At the age of three my grand aunt proclaimed her independence by categorically refusing to have her feet bound, resolutely tearing off the bandages as fast as they were applied.

But you can vanquish the demons only when you yourself are convinced of your own worth.

You have your whole life ahead of you. Be smart. Study hard and be independent.

She was bedridden falling a fall which broke her hip.

I remember in the Carpenter version, you got acquainted with the characters and really knew them..

Theology is a part of our lives. It’s unavoidable. A thoughtless theology guides our lives with just as much force as a thoughtful and informed one.

That way, it’s not nagging me, things to add to my to-do list.

To live fully, outwardly and inwardly, not to ignore the external reality for the sake of the inner life, or the reverse, that’s quite a task.

Patience often gets the credit that belongs to fatigue.

Time, matter, space – all, it may be, are no more than a point.

I have to throw in on a personal note that I didn’t like history when I was in high school.

If you want to live your whole life free from pain you must become either a god or else a corpse. Consider other men’s troubles and that will comfort you.