Quote of the day
The Chinese seemed to be mourning Mao in a heartfelt fashion. But I wondered how many of their tears were genuine. People had practiced acting to such a degree that they confused it with their true feelings.
Zhang Xianliang

Born: December 8, 1936
Died: September 27, 2014 (aged 77)
Bio: Zhang Xianliang was a Chinese novelist, essayist, and poet, and former president of the Chinese Writers Association in Ningxia. He was detained as a political prisoner during the Anti-Rightist Movement in 1957, until his political rehabilitation in 1979.
Known for:
- Grass Soup (1994)
- Half of Man Is Woman (1986)
- My Bodhi Tree (1996)
- Getting Used to Dying (1989)
- Mimosa and Other Stories (1985)






