"The literature of former days is like watching a fire from across the water; in present-day literature, the author himself is being scorched by the fire and he is bound to feel it deeply, and when he begins to feel it deeply, he is bound to take part in the social struggle."

"We have hereafter only two roads to choose: one is to embrace the ancient literature and die, the other is to forsake the ancient literature and live."

"Rather than worship Confucius and Kuan Kung, one should worship Darwin and Ibsen."

"Chinese people love compromise. If you say to them, "This room is too dark, we must have a window made," they will all oppose you. But if you say, "Let's take off the roof," they will compromise with you and say "Let's have a window.""

"I used to think that a man was sentenced to death or imprisonment because he was guilty; now I know that he is found guilty because he is disliked."

"The so-called "peace" is an interval between wars."

"Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence."

"When you talk with famous scholars, the best thing is to pretend that occasionally you do not quite understand them. If you understand too little, you will be despised; if you understand too much, you will be disliked; if you just fail occasionally to understand them you will suit each other very well."

"Savage as a lion, timid as a rabbit, crafty as a fox..."

"革命是要人生，不是要人死！"

"辱駡與恐嚇不是戰鬥。"

"凡是愚弱的國民，即使體格如何健全，如何茁壯，也只能做毫無意義的示眾的材料和看客，病死多少是不必以為不幸的。"

"“蘇聯是無產階級專政的，智識階級就要餓死。”……位有名的記者曾經這樣警告我。是的，這倒恐怕要使我也有些睡不著了。但無產階級專政，不是為了將來的無階級社會麼？只要你不去謀害它，自然成功就早，階級的消滅也就早，那時就誰也不會“餓死”了……然而帝國主義及其奴才們，還來對我們說蘇聯怎麼不好，好像它倒願意蘇聯一下子就變成天堂，人們個個享福。現在竟這樣子，它失望了，不舒服了。——這真是惡鬼的眼淚。……"