Yan Yan Quotes & Sayings

Glory, causes, careers, and love mean nothing on an empty stomach. Because of food, I lost my self-respect; because of food, I suffered the humiliation of a lowly cur; and because of food I took up creative writing, with a vengeance. — Mo Yan

At thirteen, when I arrived in Hong Kong after leaving China, I made a living by working in a restaurant. — Martin Yan

Writing is the equivalent to a striptease. — Kit Yan

You can do almost anything with soup stock, it's like a strong foundation. When you have the right foundation, everything tastes good. — Martin Yan

A lot of people don't enjoy their job, they may even hate it, but I am lucky enough to be able to make a living through my passion. — Martin Yan

One of the biggest problems in literature is the lack of subtlety. — Mo Yan

I'd discovered that the range of beauty in breasts is wide; while one should never lightly say that a pair is ugly, one can easily say that a pair of breasts is beautiful. Hedgehogs are beautiful sometimes; so are baby pigs. — Mo Yan

In truth, this was a bad thing that Yan Chang had done, telling me my mother's story. Secrets are kept from children, a lid on top of the soup kettle, so they do not boil over with too much truth. After — Amy Tan

During breaks out in the field, when our grumbling stomachs sent a sour taste up into our mouths, our greatest entertainment was talking among ourselves about food. We, along with some of the other field hands, would trade descriptions of delicious foods we had eaten or heard about. It was truly food for the soul. The speakers would invariably have us all drooling. — Mo Yan

Soy sauce is really a multi-purpose seasoning. — Martin Yan

Some people never contribute anything positive to society, they may even drain our resources, but most of us try to do something better, to give back. — Martin Yan

As long as the food is well prepared and not overdone, I think it tastes good. It doesn't matter if it's Chinese, Japanese, anything. — Martin Yan

I've never considered myself a celebrity or even part of the entertainment business. I'm a cooking teacher. — Martin Yan

Happy Valentine's day sir! Next year, happy anniversary na yan ha. — Toni Gonzaga

When you enjoy what you do, work becomes play. — Martin Yan

She folded her arms and then shouted, "Right you thieving scunners! How dare you steal Miss Treason's funeral meats!"
"Oh, waily, waily, it's the foldin' o' the arms, the foooldin' o' the aaaarmss!" cried Daft Wullie, dropping to the ground and trying to cover himself with leaves. Around him Feegles started to wail and cower and Big Yan began to bang his head on the rear wall of the dairy. — Terry Pratchett

I normally don't eat junk food. — Martin Yan

Because normally with Western cuisine, you'll serve vegetables separate from the meat, so kids will eat the meat and never touch the vegetables. — Martin Yan

I enjoy the quiet life. — Martin Yan

If an earthworm in the ground won't starve to death, then neither will we, the working class." He — Mo Yan

A writer should express criticism and indignation at the dark side of society and the ugliness of human nature, but we should not use one uniform expression. — Mo Yan

The cliche that sea dry up and rocks rot away, but the heart never changes is nothing but a beautiful fantasy. — Mo Yan

Wullie! Big Yan! Come quick!' she yelled. 'He willnae tak' a drink! I think he's deid! — Terry Pratchett

No person writes to win awards. — Mo Yan

I heard so many stories from Gaomi's peasants that I had an irrepressible urge to write them down. Today, Gaomi's peasants know that they have become famous around the world through my writings, but I think they are a little puzzled by this. — Mo Yan

What a shame for a man like him to be born during peacetime. If he'd been born only a few decades earlier, he'd have worn the mantle of hero, — Mo Yan

In turkle time a lin is the briefest moment that can just about be measured. Ninety lins make a tikk, one hundred tikks make a lod, thirty eight lods make a yan, the time it takes the planet Ankor to make one complete turn in the path of the star, Ruru, its main source of light and warmth. Ten yans make a zac. Six zacs make a yod, twenty yods make a zik. Twelve ziks make a zan. Sixteen zans make a nik. — Philip Dodd

For complexity does not inevitably heighten a story's verisimilitude, or its power to convince; sometimes simplicity and economy make for a more vigorous exposition, propelling the drama forward. — Yan Lianke

Always start with the freshest ingredients. — Martin Yan

The Master said, "What a worthy man was Yan Hui! Living in a narrow alley, subsisting upon meager bits of rice and water - other people could not have borne such hardship, and yet it never spoiled Hui's joy. What a worthy man was Hui!"
(Analects 6.11) — Confucius

I do not believe in this command leadership. Dangerous doctrine 'yan ha. Because you cannot know everything your men do. — Teodoro A. Agoncillo

As a child who grew up in a grassy field, enjoying little formal education, I know virtually nothing about literary theories and have had to rely solely upon my own experiences and intuitive understanding of the world to write. — Mo Yan

I live a very low-key life. — Martin Yan

I have nothing but admiration for myself as a youngster; I was a force to be reckoned with then, a much finer specimen than I am now. As kids, we had little meat on our bones; we were sticklike figures with big rounded bellies, the skin stretched so taut it was nearly transparent - you could just about see our intestines twist and coil on the other side. Our necks were so long and thin it was a miracle they could support our heavy heads. — Mo Yan

decade after the first edition of this book was published, Yan Wong and I met in the fitting surroundings of the Oxford Museum of Natural History to discuss the possibility of producing a new, tenth anniversary edition. Yan, once my undergraduate pupil, had been employed as my research assistant during the writing of the original edition, before he left for his lecturing position in Leeds and his career as a television presenter. He played an enormously important part in the conception and execution of the first edition, and he was credited as joint author of several of the chapters. During the course of our discussion ten years on, we realised that much new information had come in, especially from the molecular genetics laboratories of the world. Yan undertook the bulk of the revision and I proposed to the publisher that this time he should be properly credited as joint author of the whole book. — Richard Dawkins

I also have a lot of preserved foods, things that will keep for a long time like dried fish, seaweed or lotus seed. — Martin Yan

I think writers write for their consciences, they write for their own true audiences, for their souls. — Mo Yan

I can represent my culture while helping not only the Chinese-American community, but also the community at large. — Martin Yan

People are like stars in the Milky Way. There are millions of them. There are big, small, dead, and dying stars out there. Hindi ikaw ang nag-iisang bituin d'yan sa langit, kaya hindi sa'yo umiikot ang mundo. Puweding makinang ka ngayon, pero asahan mong parating may darating na mas makinang pa sa'yo. Malaki ang posibilidad na mawala sa'yo ang atensiyon ng iba, pero tandaan mo ang isang bagay.

"Whatever happens, you're still a star. There will still be people looking at you, admiring your beauty, and wishing for great things to happen to them with your help. You can't let them down, so you have to continue shining for them. You have to show them directions. That's what stars are for. — Luna King

The only thing that counts is if you know how to prepare your ingredients. Even if with the best and freshest ingredients in the world, if your dish is tasteless or burnt, it's ruined. — Martin Yan

My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature. They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. — Mo Yan

I have a lot of cooking tools. In fact I have a whole drawer full of knives. Cooking tools, especially cutlery, are my toys. — Martin Yan

A sudden cloud formation of birds was swallowed up by the moon, and he was just as suddenly penned in by four walls - the demons' pen. — Mo Yan

First of all, I can't really claim to be a great chef. — Martin Yan

Loneliness and hunger were my fortunes of creation. — Mo Yan

The principle of fair reduction is based on the concept of historic responsibility. Developed countries finished industrialising first. Thus, over the last 60 years, the developed countries, which represent 17 percent of the world's population, have been responsible for 70 percent of carbon emissions. The developed countries should adjust for this disparity accordingly. In contrast, developing countries, which represent 83 percent of the world's population, have contributed only 30 percent of total carbon emissions over the past 60 years. It is therefore fair to give developing countries more leeway to produce carbon emissions. — Yan Xuetong

You don't have to show people how successful you are. — Martin Yan

So when I do Chinese cooking, I mix everything together, then the kids have to eat their vegetables. They won't have the patience to pick them out. — Martin Yan

I think a lot of times it's not money that's the primary motivation factor; it's the passion for your job and the professional and personal satisfaction that you get out of doing what you do that motivates you. — Martin Yan

Do what others do not do, Believe in what others do not believe, Feel what others cant feel, Become what others cannot be — Yan Antropov

Expressions to designate homosexuality exist in some fifty (Sub-Saharan) African languages - gor-jigeen in Wolof, ngochani in Shona, Hasini in Nandi, 'yan daudu in Hausa, mashoga ("passive" homosexual), mabasha ("virile" partner) in Kiswahili. [They refer] to ancestral practices in "traditional", that is pre-industrial, societies [...]. — Chantal Zabus

We cannae just rush in, ye ken."
"Point o' order, Big Man. Ye can just rush in. We always just rush in."
"Aye, Big Yan, point well made. But ye gotta know where ye're just gonna rush in. Ye cannae just rush in anywhere. It looks bad, havin' to rush oout again straight awa'. — Terry Pratchett

I think being famous is more of a hindrance, a constraint, than just letting yourself be free. — Martin Yan

A person can change the way he talks, but not the way he sneezes. A person can turn single-fold eyelids into double folds, but the greatest plastic surgeon alive cannot change the look in a man's eyes. — Mo Yan

In general I love to eat anything. I enjoy anything that is well prepared, a good spaghetti, lasagna, taco, steak, sushi, refried beans. — Martin Yan

I remember when I was in college, I used to watch Julia Child's cooking show during dinner and joke with my roommates about becoming a TV chef. — Martin Yan

WITH THIS BOOK I respectfully invoke the heroic, aggrieved souls wandering in the boundless bright-red sorghum fields of my hometown. As your unfilial son, I am prepared to carve out my heart, marinate it in soy sauce, have it minced and placed in three bowls, and lay it out as an offering in a field of sorghum. Partake of it in good health! — Mo Yan

I sometimes think that there is a link between the decline in humanity and the increase in prosperity and comfort. Property and comfort are what people seek, but the costs to character are often terrifying. — Mo Yan

I wonder if this is it. If I have finally flown too far from home. I think of Ramonda and Ororo. Zuri and W'Kabi. Father and S'yan. But above all, I think of you. and I think of dying out here, of drifting out here, in search of but far away from you. — Ta-Nehisi Coates

Always choose life. A demeaned life is better than the best death. — Mo Yan

I am just a normal professional with a great job and a great life. — Martin Yan

Are women really wonderful things? Maybe they are. Yes, women are wonderful things, but when all is said and done, they aren't really things — Mo Yan

Finally, she mused that human existence is as brief as the life of autumn grass, so what was there to fear from taking chances with your life? — Mo Yan

When I retire or pass away, I will be able to look back and say that this has been an exciting life. That's all that matters. — Martin Yan

The day after I became king, S'yan offered a single piece of wisdom. 'Power lies not in what a king does, but in what his subjects believe he might do.' This was profound. For it meant that the majesty of kings lay in their mystique... not in their might. — Ta-Nehisi Coates

I think that China has many outstanding authors, and their great works should also be recognised by the world. — Mo Yan

And the chewing and swallowing imbue me with an unadulterated sense of donkey delight. — Mo Yan

The dead are noble, the living worthless. — Mo Yan

Just like if you were brought up on a farm, you would most likely carry on your father's business as a farmer; I was brought up in the kitchen and ended up becoming a chef. — Martin Yan

A writer should bury his thoughts deep and convey them through the characters in his novel. — Mo Yan

For a country boy, poor as I was, whose constant worry was to be able to have enough to eat, the Army guaranteed one's survival. — Mo Yan

Wind, then rain, and then the blue sky. — Mo Yan

There are people who walk mules and people walk horses, but I never thought there were people who walk cops. — Mo Yan

Mo Yan is a writer who, defiantly in the face of those who wish his work were less cartoonish and more straightforward in its political meanings, continues to sing his own peculiar and alluring song. — Dwight Garner

Twilight,' he said to Yan Tovis, 'that's a Letherii word you use. Would you be surprised if I told you the word for "twilight", in your original language, was "yenander"? And that "antovis" meant "night" or even "dark"? Your own name is your title, and I can see by your expression that you didn't even know it. Yedan Derryg? Not sure what "derryg" is -- we'll need to ask Sandalath -- but "yedanas" is "watch", both act and title. — Steven Erikson

My little donkey, if I hadn't shown up, your fate would have been sealed. Love has saved you. Is there anything else that could erase the innate fears of a donkey and send him to rescue you from certain death? No. That is the only one. With a call to arms, I, Ximen Donkey, charged down the ridge and headed straight for the wolf that was tailing my beloved. My hooves kicked up sand and dust as I raced down from my commanding position; no wolf, not even a tiger, could have avoided the spearhead aimed at it. It saw me too late to move out of the way, and I thudded into it, sending it head over heels. Then I turned around and said to my donkey, Do not fear my dear, I am here! — Mo Yan

When literature exists, perhaps we do not notice how important it is, but when it does not exist, our lives become coarsened and brutal. For this reason, I am proud of my profession, but also aware of its importance. — Mo Yan

They say officials love to serve the people, so why do they treat the common folk as enemies? Heavy taxes and under-the-table levies, like ravenous beasts, force the farmers to head for the hills. The common folk have a bellyful of grievances, but they dare not let them out. For the moment they open their mouths, electric prods close them fast. — Mo Yan

I am also well aware that literature only has a minimal influence on political disputes or economic crises in the world, but its significance to human beings is ancient. — Mo Yan

I don't like to waste anything. Any food left over from the night before is always eaten the next day. — Martin Yan

I have always been independent. — Mo Yan

But what sets me apart from other Chinese writers is that I neither copy the narrative techniques of foreign writers nor imitate their story lines; what I am happy to do is closely explore what is embedded in their work in order to understand their observations of life and comprehend how they view the world we live in. In my mind, by reading the works of others, a writer is actually engaging in a dialogue, maybe even a romance in which, if there is a meeting of the minds, a lifelong friendship is born; if not, an amicable parting is fine, too. — Mo Yan

Anyone that has come to America past the age of eighteen will be able to understand when I say that you can never shake your accent. — Martin Yan

People who are strangers to liquor are incapable of talking about literature. — Mo Yan

I'll continue on the path I've been taking, feet on the ground, describing people's lives, describing people's emotions, writing from the standpoint of the ordinary people. — Mo Yan

Am I drunk?" he asked Crewcut.
"You're not drunk, Boss," Crewcut replied. "How could a superior individual like you be drunk? People around here who get drunk are the dregs of society, illiterates, uncouth people. Highbrow folks, those of the 'spring snow,' cannot get drunk. You're a highbrow, therefore you cannot be drunk. — Mo Yan

A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him. — Mo Yan

Over decades that seem but a moment in time, lines of scarlet figures shuttled among the sorghum stalks to weave a vast human tapestry. They killed, they looted, and they defended their country in a valiant, stirring ballet that makes us unfilial descendants who now occupy the land pale by comparison. — Mo Yan

Where there's life, death is inevitable. Dying's easy; it's living that's hard. The harder it gets, the stronger the will to live. And the greater the fear of death, the greater the struggle to keep on living. — Mo Yan

Dear brother," Number Two replied, "I can eat shit, I just don't like the taste. — Mo Yan

The problem with a lot of Chinese is that they put up divisions between Taiwanese, Hong Kong natives, mainlanders. We are never united. I really hope that the Chinese can be more united. — Martin Yan

How're we gonna bring the big hag round?" said Big Yan.
"I heard where ye has to put someone's heid between their legs," said Rob doubtfully.
Daft Wullie sighed and drew his sword. "Sounds a wee bit drastic tae me," he said, "but if someone will help me hold her steady- — Terry Pratchett

I write about my region, the countryside in which I grew up. — Mo Yan

All kinds of mysterious phenomena exist in this world, but answers to most of them have come with advances in scientific knowledge. Love is the sole holdout-nothing can explain it. A Chinese writer by the name of Ah Cheng wrote that love is just a chemical reaction, an unconventional point of view that seemed quite fresh at the time. But if love can be controlled and initiated by means of chemistry, then novelists would be out of a job. So while he may have had his finger on the truth, I'll remain a member of the loyal opposition. — Mo Yan

Possibly because I've lived so much of my life in difficult circumstances, I think I have a more profound understanding of life. — Mo Yan

Heavens never seals off all the exits — Mo Yan

People who don't travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what's in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live. — Martin Yan

It is good that since the outbreak of the war with Japan, more and more revolutionary writers have been coming to Yan'an ... But it does not necessarily follow that ... they have integrated themselves completely with the masses here. The two must be completely integrated if we are to push ahead with our revolutionary work. — Mao Zedong

When Communism has been realized, everyone will be a novelist. — Mo Yan

The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black mulberry leaves turned as red as roses; pristine white acacia petals shed an enshrouding pale-green aura. Mild evening breezes made both the mulberry leaves and the acacia petals dance and whirl, filling the woods with a soft rustle. — Mo Yan