"This book is a tour de force! It introduces to English-language readers to the profound thoughts of one of the world’s most distinguished writers. In this book, Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian addresses pressing issues about literature, ideology, politics, environment, and the human and inhuman conditions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Gao Xingjian’s thinking matters now more than ever as we live in a time wrought with uncertainties and threats resulting from ideological conflicts, technological changes, and environment catastrophes. Gao’s thoughts on literature and politics, together with his artworks, as Jianmei Liu so eloquently states in her foreword, 'have exemplified a personal renaissance in literature and art in a time besieged by commercial desires, political struggles, and spiritual destitution,' and this new renaissance represents a third space that exists outside the dualist thinking and goes beyond the 'either/or' dichotomies, 'achieving a Zhuangzian state of absolute spiritual freedom.' Gao’s literature and art, in their unique way, have upheld the individuation of literary writing and artistic creation at a pivotal time of history when sweeping changes are taking over literary and artistic production, now oriented toward the digital, the cybernetic, and the virtual. This book also showcases Gao Xingjian’s masterful expressions of artistic freedom through breathtaking visual images, in 45 of Gao’s paintings selected by Gao himself. This collection by Gao is one of its own kind, with the verbal and visual parts interwoven in a rich, synergistic manner." — Mingwei Song, Wellesley College
"Gao Xingjian’s call for a new Renaissance is like the 'sudden enlightenment' in Zen Buddhism. The present state of art and literature, according to him, needs a sudden jolt of awakening. He sees the threats, the dangers, and the imminent disaster of the destruction of beauty and the value of being human coming from commodification and politicization. Writers and artists seldom comment on their own work, but Gao is the exception. He enjoys talking about his novels, plays, films, paintings, and photography. This makes him more accessible to students and scholars hoping to understand this wonderful writer and artist. Thus, the value of this collection of essays by Gao and interviews with him. Gao’s voice deserves to be heard, and this book provides the channel to further understand the workings of the mind of a Nobel prize winner.” —Gilbert Fong, Dean and Professor, School of Translation and Foreign Languages, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong
