# China Men

- Author: [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston.md)
- Quotes: 9
- Book page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men

## Quotes

> Ocean people are different from land people. The ocean never stops saying and asking into ears, which don't sleep like eyes. Those who live by the sea examine the driftwood and glass balls that float from foreign ships. They let scores of invisible imps loose out of found bottles. In a scoop of salt water, they revive the dead blobs that have been beached in storms and tides: fins, whiskers, and gills unfold; mouths, eyes, and colors bloom and spread. Sometimes ocean people are given to understand the newness and oldness of the world; then all morning they try to keep that boundless joy like a little sun inside their chests. The ocean also makes its people know immensity. (p90)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/ocean-people-are.md)

> Fancy lovers never last. (p81)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/fancy-lovers-never.md)

> Mental work was harder than physical work, although it was not exactly the mind that teaching strained. (p41)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/mental-work-was.md)

> I don't want anybody attached to me forever with gratitude. (p85)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/i-dont-want.md)

> He sings melodies that wind like ribbons into the vistas. (p75)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/he-sings-melodies.md)

> The hero's home has its own magic. (p81)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/the-heros-home.md)

> He repeated himself so often that some of what he said seeped into the ears. (p190)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/he-repeated-himself.md)

> As you know, any plain person you chance to meet can prove to be a powerful immortal in disguise come to test you. (p119)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/as-you-know.md)

> Once upon a time, a man, named Tang Ao, looking for the Gold Mountain, crossed an ocean, and came upon the Land of Women. The women immediately captured him, not on guard against ladies. When they asked Tang Ao to come along, he followed; if he had had male companions, he would've winked over his shoulder. (first lines)

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/maxine-hong-kingston/china-men/once-upon-a-time.md)