"This novel is neither an apology for contemporary Chinese life nor an expose of it. ... It is neither a glorification…"

"When you yourself are right, nothing that happens to you can ever be wrong."

"If any looters come, offer no resistance but ask them to help themselves. Do not risk your old life for these trash a…"

"[Mulan] asked [her father], "Why did you say last night that all the curios are trash and rubbish?" "If you consider …"

"Everything has its destined owner. How many hundred owners do you think those Chou bronzes have had in the last three…"

"When a family is in poverty it produces a filial son, and when a country is in danger it produces a patriot."

"All life was the result of two forces—centrality and eccentricity. Without eccentricity, there would be no progress, …"

"Mulan's father had begun to take a very light view of his wealth. There was no better way of squandering his money th…"

""Do you remember," said Lifu, "how the Chin Emperor was afraid of death and sent five hundred virgin boys to the East…"

"Do you believe in all the childish things they are advocating?" said Lifu. "They are striking even at ancestor worshi…"