"China is still a good place to work in the cinema industry. Every country has its own political system. China has a huge population of nearly 1.4 billion people and therefore needs good, strong governance."

"As an actress, my criteria for accepting the role — who is the director, who are fellow cast and, above all, whether there is a good script – are basically the same whether I’m being offered a film or TV role."

"You learn to focus on what you do well. Especially if you already have an instinct for acting, training allows you to improve very quickly. It allows you to pinpoint your talents and avoid taking roles as extras or supporting characters that aren't that beneficial to your career."

"Of course in terms of dialogue, there is a language difference, and this does make a difference. When I speak in English, my expressions become different. My attitude too. I'm not sure why, but there really is a difference. My hands move differently when I speak English. But in terms of performance, it's not that different. It won't be that because I'm in a foreign film that my approach is different. My training allowed me to make contact with a number of different possibilities. Four years in college let me work with excellent teachers who gave me a good foundation."

"No matter what you do, you should focus on it. Focus on doing it well, and you will get what you want. As an actor, sometimes it's hard to stick to it because there are so many temptations in the current society. How do you stick to what you love? Only true love can make you stick to it."

"Lots of little old ladies potter in their gardens. For me it is my library. It has every subject about China I can collect, and of course about theatre."

"I don’t know how to bargain. Most Chinese are good at it. I am not. I am too lazy. You need to have good arithmetic and I don’t. I hate gambling, which is almost a national sport. And I don’t think I would keep the money."

"I’m tough but my heart is very soft."

"I have lived on my own since 1963. It doesn’t mean I haven’t had a sex life."

"You are only famous for ten years, unless you’re a superstar. Because another generation comes through and you’re forgotten."

"I always tell my students that I’m teaching them to be more confident. That’s why you come to acting class. I say, “If you aim at a tall tree, you may hit a bush. If you aim at a bush, you’ll hit that floor.” I find that some actors just don’t try enough. They may not like it when I say that."

"Another problem for minority actors is that we don’t often work with beautiful dialogue. And there were less chances of working with great directors and actors. That’s when you can learn a lot."

"You can control the audience. You can make the audience so happy one minute, and so sad the next minute. In film, it’s up to the directors to cut it well. Sometimes an actor may not give a very good performance, but the editor does a good job."

"I don’t like to be called “Mrs.” because I am not married, and I only belong to myself. I admire and respect people who have been successfully married for a long time, but I cannot do it. So I decided to never marry again."

"See, a lot of people think freedom means you can do anything you want. That’s not true. The more freedom you have, the more responsibility you have. My life has always been about freedom and independence. And in some ways, acting has too. What is so great about acting is that after 62 years, suddenly the technique is in you already. You don’t have to think about it anymore. Suddenly you’re free."

"For me in this (movie industry) job, in this work, it's more about who you are working with. It's nothing about what you're working on. It's the people, and the conversations, and also the chemistry that's more important for me."

"I could have done a lot of Hollywood movies. After Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon I got a lot of offers, but I turned them down because they were all victim roles—poor girls sold to America to be a wife or whatever. I know I have the ability to go deeper, to take on more original roles than that. That's why I really appreciated Geisha, because it allowed us to show the world what kind of actors we are and what kind of characters we can play—not just action, kick-ass parts."