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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

Ai Weiwei

So for too long Americans take liberty as granted. We think we are in the safe hand, the democracy and the liberty, which is not true. And it can be even getting much worse than today.
AI WEIWEI

Country Democracy Granted Liberty Think Today True Worse
Otherwise, I think the building can be bigger, larger, and the city can be much more crazy. The problem is the government structure is so deadly stupid, not really solving problems but creating a lot of problems itself every day.
AI WEIWEI

Bigger Building City Crazy Larger More Much Stupid Thinking
I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Believe Best Collaboration Made Product
Hopefully, other successes aren’t like me. It carries much more meaning to other people; my success story is irrelevant. It doesn’t make any sense.
AI WEIWEI

Carries Hopefully Irrelevant Like More People Stories Story Success Successes
It [success] is really by mistake.
AI WEIWEI

Mistake Reality Success
If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
AI WEIWEI

Free Life Live Single Speech Vain
I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Expression Extend Freedom Power Responsibility Thinking
I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years.
AI WEIWEI

Citizen Father Party Pushed Writer Writing Young
How to become a really modern society when today we are so – as a human being, we feel so powerful. We have high technology and a superb way of controlling our life. And at the same time, in many ways we are so primitive.
AI WEIWEI

Being Feel Human Modern Powerful Society Technology Understanding
This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the quality of their lives.
AI WEIWEI

Chance Exercise Free More Much People Quality World Young
There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
AI WEIWEI

Dictatorship Graceful Outdoor Sport Sports Stone Throwing
To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling.
AI WEIWEI

Above Beyond Experience Feeling Over People Physical Poetry Reality
The people will always have the last word – even if someone has a very weak, quiet voice. Such power will collapse because of a whisper.
AI WEIWEI

Collapse Lst People Power Someone Very Weak Whisper Word
Mass production is nothing new. Weren’t cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?
AI WEIWEI

Cathedral Hand Mass People Production Pyramid
What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.
AI WEIWEI

Access Express Important Realm Wish
This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.
AI WEIWEI

Art Artist Country General Money Star Understanding
I’m totally independent. I don’t bear any responsibility to any system.
AI WEIWEI

Bear Independent Responsibility System Totally
Everyone thinks the Chinese government selected me. Never ever. I was selected by Herzog and de Meuron.
AI WEIWEI

Chinese Ever Government never Selected Thinking
For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Giving Up Intellectual Mean Needed Responsibility Social
If I look at it, I would laugh. I don’t know how I became successful.
AI WEIWEI

Laughing Look Successful
Even if I have hundreds of things to do, the disconnected feeling is still there because it is very hard to find a real purpose of life.
AI WEIWEI

Disconnected Do Feeling Find Hard Hundred Purpose Real Still Thing Very
[Museums] all belongs to the cultural department, which is the biggest cultural department in the world.
AI WEIWEI

Belong Biggest Cultural Department Museums World
This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.
AI WEIWEI

Art Called Contemporary Form Philosophy Society
This so-called fame or being better off doesn’t really attract me at all.
AI WEIWEI

All Attract Better Called Fame
The Internet has established a public sphere and developed a pressure which the government can no longer ignore.
AI WEIWEI

Developed Established Government Ignored Internet Longer Pressure Sphere
And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society – the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
AI WEIWEI

Condition Gave Kind Mistreatment Society
A clear understanding of such differences will help the rest of the world understand China and all that is happening to the nation.
AI WEIWEI

Clear Country Difference Happening Nation Rest Understand Understanding World

[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

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