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At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year – 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me.

Ai Weiwei

I think the pearls – one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl – really show a kind of [society] condition.
AI WEIWEI

Another Five Hundred Million Necklace Pearl Pound Thinking
Mass production is nothing new. Weren’t cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?
AI WEIWEI

Cathedral Hand Mass People Production Pyramid
You know about the fantasies related to the classics, but there is no real discussion about today’s life and no discussion of the real conditions – which is really sickening.
AI WEIWEI

Classic Condition Discussion Fantasies Related Sickening Today
Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious.
AI WEIWEI

Ability Anybody Art Heart Ordinary People Thinking Understand
Censorship is saying: “I’m the one who says the last sentence. Whatever you say, the conclusion is mine.” But the internet is like a tree that is growing.
AI WEIWEI

Conclusion Mine People Quiet Saying Sentence Tree Voice
Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.
AI WEIWEI

Barely Casulaities Country Deal People Political Treated
Society becomes very destructive.
AI WEIWEI

Destructive Society
I think it’s quite narrow-minded. There wasn’t much encouragement or opportunities for any artist – not just Chinese artists.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Country Encouragement Minded Narrow Opportunities Think
So, the politicians and the people who make decisions very often is the one we think can make some difference. But of course they will not make a difference if the citizens or the individuals not push it or not to speak out, to possess a very strong voice about, this is not acceptable.
AI WEIWEI

Acceptable Citizen Course Difference Often People Politician Strong
I never regret anything.
AI WEIWEI

Anything never Regret
I think to deal with the situation like human crisis, 65 million people being displaced, lost their home, and with such human tragedy, has to make every level of society to be conscious and to be alert about the situation.
AI WEIWEI

Crisis Displaced Home Human Lost Million People Situation Strong Thinking Tragedy
As long as I can communicate, I’m not so lonely. If I cannot travel, or do art, or have company, if they take away all my belongings, it doesn’t matter at all.
AI WEIWEI

Communicate Dialogue Engage Living Lonely Long Society
You can never know what is and what is not powerful, but you can always find out what the powerful people are scared of.
AI WEIWEI

Always Know Look People Powerful Scared
The importance of elections, transparency, legal procedures, an independent army, and the judicial system is not regarded as highly in China. These core values are the most important evidence of the health of a society, quality of life, and security.
AI WEIWEI

Army Difference Election Importance Independent Judicial System Transparency
The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China’s future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state.
AI WEIWEI

Children Country Future Issue Job Know Leadership Mean Solve
Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you.
AI WEIWEI

Art Artist Character Course People Thinking

At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year – 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me.

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At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year – 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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