Top 10 Quotes & Sayings by Bei Dao

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American poet Bei Dao.

Last updated on December 21, 2024.

Bei Dao is the pen name of the Chinese-American writer Zhao Zhenkai. Among the most acclaimed Chinese-language poets of his generation, he has been repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In addition to poetry, he is the author of short fiction, essays, and a memoir. Known as a dissident, he is a prominent representative of a school of poetry known variously in the West as "Misty" or "Obscure" Poetry.

American - Poet | Born: August 2, 1949

Source: Wikipedia

On the one hand poetry is useless. It can't change the world materially. On the other hand it is a basic part of human existence. It came into the world when humans did. It's what makes human beings human.

Bei Dao

Being a poet in the States is quite different from being one in China, because in the States poetry depends on the universities for its support. They finance the poets and help them get published. That isn't so in China. But overall it is the same. You can't change society with poetry.

Bei Dao

Perhaps the final hour is come I have left no testament Only a pen, for my mother I am no hero in an age without heroes I just want to be a man.

Bei Dao

Bei Dao became the most well-known name for me because of certain criticism of my work. Bei Dao was the name under which my work was criticized. So I became more well-known under Bei Dao than under the other names.

Bei Dao

Freedom is nothing but the distance between the hunter and the hunted.

Bei Dao

The name Bei Dao was actually given to me with the help of friends. When we were publishing our unofficial magazine, Today, we wanted to avoid being harassed by the police so we were trying to think of names that we could use. It was done very casually.

Bei Dao

As a writer, the most important thing for me is to continue to write, no matter where I am.

Bei Dao

In the world I am Always a stranger I do not understand its language It does not understand my silence

Bei Dao

I don't think of writing my poems for China or for the world. I mainly think of a small audience of friends and people I know. I am writing for that small group. They are not necessarily going to be able to read it, but that's what I have in mind when I write.

Bei Dao

Writing is the thing that sustains me and keeps me going. It is a form of self-preservation for me.

Bei Dao

Top 10 Quotes & Sayings by Bei Dao

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