Ai Weiwei

"A fine line separates Chinese intellectuals and professors from the political gangsters who protect them."

"Block [my blog] if you want, but I cannot self-censor, because that is the only reason I have the blog. We both know this is a game. You have to play your part, and I have to play mine."

"Modernism represents a true kind of living. Modernism is not about form or method or the works of a few artists, but rather about a necessary way of living. And only this kind of lifestyle can save China, because if we don’t have modernism, then we will die under the grasp of one or another ideology. Modernism at least says that every person is free and needs to honestly encounter his own life."

"No autocracy can lead people to believe that they are living in harmony and happiness."

"The Internet is the best thing that could have happened to China."

"We should leave behind discrimination, because it is narrow-minded and ignorant, denies contact and warmth, and corrodes mankind’s belief that we can better ourselves. The only way to avoid misunderstanding, war, and bloodshed is to defend freedom of expression and to communicate with sincerity, concern, and good intentions."

"Today China and the world will meet again. People will see that the planet is now smaller than at any time in history, that mankind should bid farewell to arrogance and indifference, to ignorance and discrimination, and understand that we share the same small piece of land. It will be a time to rediscover each other, to share what is good in life, to look each other in the eye and link all ten fingers."

"Measuring national prestige by gold medals is like using Viagra to judge the potency of a man."

"Consider why the quality of school dinners is declining, even as more and more golf courses are opened."

"I’m not sure I’m good at art, but I find an escape in it."

"Living in a system under the Communist ideology, an artist cannot avoid fighting for freedom of expression. You always have to be aware that art is not only a self-expression but a demonstration of human rights and dignity. To express yourself freely, a right as personal as it is, has always been difficult, given the political situation."

"Art is not an end but a beginning."

"I don’t know about five years from now. I have no plans for that. Maybe I’ll be forgotten by then."

"Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward."

"The fundamental problem is not that there are limits on voicing different opinions here. The problem is that the whole society is dying through lack of responsibility or involvement."

"[The Olympics are] an event manipulated into misleading people into believing that we have entered a new, successful and harmonious period in our history. This is not true."

"The think of artists as prostitutes. And in reality it’s true: in the Communist system artists just represent what the power structure seeks them to represent. It is prostitution."

"Contemporary art and the [Communist] Party are an impossible situation. It’s like oil and water—they can never mix."

"We see plenty of artistic work that reflects superficial social conditions, but very little work that questions fundamental values."

"There is no revolution like the Communist revolution. You simply burn all the books, kill all of the thinking people and use the poor proletariat to create a very simple benchmark to gauge social change."

"The great success of this system is that it makes the general public afraid of taking responsibility, afraid of taking a position or giving a definite answer, or even of making mistakes."

"The government may be made up of clever, sensible people. But if they do not believe in basic human values, the more clever or shrewd they are the greater the tragedy they will create."

"It is better to have a retarded president who respects human values than a clever government without human values."

"Any power or structure that seeks to maintain full control and is not open in any way to loosening its power eventually makes itself ridiculous."

"The Chinese [government] only superficially speaks the language of the international community."

"My blog is an extension of my thinking. Why should I deform my thinking simply because I live under a government that espouses an ideology which I believe to be totally against humanity?"

"The population is in a constant state of enforced dislocation. So let us hope that a totally new culture will come out of this."

"No matter how long our politicians order people to sing songs of praise, no matter how many fireworks they launch into the heavens, and no matter how many foreign leaders they embrace, they cannot arouse a genuine mood of joy and celebration among the people."

"It is as difficult [for Chinese politicians] to get a real smile [from the people] as it is to keep the sky blue and clouds white."

"The Olympics are an opportunity to redefine the country, but the message is always wrong."

"They tell us it will be about “emotions” and “friendship,” that it will be a night of joy. Who are they kidding?"

"The 2008 Olympics has created an illusion of China to the public and to the outside world. It is so fantastic, so unreal, that the entire meaning of the games is being distorted."

"Anyone who cares about truth should avoid not politics, but Olympic lies."

"It is absurd that so much money has been wasted on manipulating public opinion, on simulating emotion. This nation is notorious for its ability to make or fake anything cheaply. “Made-in-China” goods now fill homes around the world. But our giant country has a small problem. We can’t manufacture the happiness of our people."

"Neither fairness nor justice, neither reality nor humanity can be simulated or manipulated by wires or remote controls."

"My favorite word? It’s 'act.'"

"It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and attitude than producing some product."

"I call on people to be “obsessed citizens,” forever questioning and asking for accountability. That’s the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life."

"My activism is a part of me. If my art has anything to do with me, then my activism is part of my art."

"I came to art because I wanted to escape the other regulations of the society. The whole society is so political. But the irony is that my art becomes more and more political."

"They don’t believe in liberty. They don’t believe in China before the Communists. There is only one simple, clear task: to protect their control, to maintain their governing. Which is such a pity."

"I think strategically China has come to a very crucial moment. They [the government] have to re-justify themselves. Even the past 20 to 30 years are based on a kind of destructive, suicidal act. Now they are trying to reach a higher level, but I think in any society, culture should have its own rights: not to be touched by the government, not to be promoted by the government, also not to be destroyed by the government."

"This does not mean a meteor has fallen. This is the discovery of a star."

"I think right now is the moment. This is the beginning. We don’t know what is it the moment of, and maybe something much crazier will happen. But really, we see the sunshine coming in. It was clouded for maybe a hundred years. Our whole condition was very sad, but we still feel warmth, and the life in our bodies can still tell that there is excitement in there, even though death is waiting. We had better not enjoy the moment, but create the moment."

"I always have an attitude. Even if there are no plans, I have an attitude. Perhaps I answered imprecisely before, saying that I am just a person. I am actually a person with an attitude."

"Overturning police cars is a super-intense workout. It’s probably the only sport I enjoy."

"Tips on surviving the regime: Respect yourself and speak for others. Do one small thing every day to prove the existence of justice."

"If there is one who’s not free, then I am not free. If there is one who suffers, then I suffer."

"Choices after waking up: To be true or to lie? To take action or be brainwashed? To be free or be jailed?"

"What can they do besides exile [me] or make me disappear? They have no imagination or creativity."