“My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall. Art should live in the heart of the people.”

A small act is worth a million thoughts.

It is to wonder about the world, to understand the nature of people and, most importantly, to be shared with another, old or young, known or unknown.

Somehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time; we could be outside of China. But at the moment, we had no sense of what the future was going to be like.

Mass production is nothing new. Weren’t cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?

I’m just bringing them to Kassel to see the art show, and pay their room and board.

The purpose of art is the fight for freedom.

[Shanghai Biennale] has been my attitude for as long as I’ve been practicing art and other cultural-related activities.

The project or a few ideas which are not finished or if there are possible directions and what will lead into another game. It’s always like setting up some kind of game you can continuously play.

You have so many museums in the West, and so many shows, you need somebody to show the work, otherwise it’s empty.

Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.

I have to find a place for my own. I have to search for my own happiness.

Today, the general masses in this society are in this political-social condition that really encourages people to become rich and become a star and be unique.

You need a purpose to express yourself, but that expression is its own purpose.

I came back [to Beijing ] because that’s the only time I had an excuse to come back, or otherwise I would never have a reason to come back.

That’s why I always question this sense. The feeling of home really requires a lot of trust. It requires you to identify with it, which I always find myself very contradictory to.

But personally, I don’t think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it’s beyond my own consciousness.

There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other.

I tell everyone in the world that I have always been the best father I could be and that I was the worst husband. Wooo!

You know, I was once named Minor League Player of the Year… unfortunately, I had been in the majors for two years at the time.

Have you ever been to the countryside? It’s so small. And there’s nothing to do.

Our government declared that it is conducting some kind of great reforms. In reality, no real reforms were begun and no one at any point has declared a coherent programme.

I love trying to render not just the object, but what it has been through.

Having been unpopular in high school is not just cause for book publications.

It would have been difficult to design a path out of communism worse than the one that has been followed.