Cixin Liu > Quotes

“You’re one of the calmest people I’ve ever met.”
“The calmness comes from cynicism. There’s not much in the world that can make me care.”
― Cixin Liu, Remembrance of Earth's Past: The Three-Body Trilogy

“But in this dark forest, there's a stupid child named humanity, who has built a bonfire and is standing beside it shouting, 'Here I am! Here I am!”
― Cixin Liu, The Dark Forest

“There's a strange contradiction revealed by the naivete and kindness demonstrated by humanity when faced with the universe: On Earth, humankind can step onto another continent, and without a though, destroy the kindred civilizations found there through warfare and disease. But when they gaze up at the stars, they turn sentimental and believe that if extraterrestrial intelligences exist, they must be civilizations bound by universal, noble, moral constraints, as if cherishing and loving different forms of life are parts of a self-evident universal code of conduct.”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“Intellectuals always make a fuss about nothing.”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“All you need to understand right now is this: the world isn't what it used to be”
― Cixin Liu, Supernova Era

“God does not exist. All religions are tools concocted by the ruling class to paralyze the spirit of the people.”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“I realized that beauty for most people is characterized by fragility and powerlessness. True beauty needs to be supported by an internal strength, and develop itself through sensations like terror and brutality, from which you can both draw strength and meet your death. In weapons, this beauty is expressed to the full.”
― Cixin Liu, Ball Lightning

“Mom, I'm going to be a firefly.”
― Cixin Liu, The Dark Forest

“We should discuss what God looks like, even though we have been over this a thousand times before.’ ‘Yes,’ Lassini said, ‘that is the crux of the conflict and the crisis.’ ‘God undoubtedly resembles a dinosaur,’ said the dinosaur emperor. ‘We have seen God through our faith, and God’s image embodies all dinosaurs.’ ‘God undoubtedly looks like an ant,’ said the ant queen. ‘We have also seen God through our faith, and all ants are reflected in God’s image.”
― Cixin Liu, Of Ants and Dinosaurs

“Now he saw only the stars and the headstones, the two greatest symbols of eternity.”
― Cixin Liu, The Dark Forest

“No banquet was eternal. Everything had an end. Everything.”
― Cixin Liu, Death's End

“A museum was built for visitors; a tombstone was built for the builders.”
― Cixin Liu, Death's End

“Is it possible that the relationship between humanity and evil is similar to the relationship between the ocean and an iceberg floating on its surface? Both the ocean and the iceberg are made of the same material. That the iceberg seems separate is only because it is in a different form. In reality, it is but a part of the vast ocean.…”
― Cixin Liu

“It was like a noose, indicating danger and aggression when held in the hand, but safety when wrapped around the holder's own neck.”
― Cixin Liu

“It's easy to make ideological mistakes in theory.”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“The entire sky flickered, as if the universe was but a quivering lamp in the wind.
Standing under the flashing dome of the night sky, Wang suddenly felt the universe shrink until it was so small that only he was imprisoned in it. The universe was a cramped heart, and the red light that suffused everything was the translucent blood that filled the organ.”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“We all understand the historical significance of the pendulum. It’s intended to hypnotize God.”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“You are nothing more than a program. As for the rest of you, you’re either programs or idiots. I will log back on!”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“You are walking across a plain when you suddenly encounter a wall. The wall is infinitely tall and extends infinitely deep underground. It stretches infinitely to the left and infinitely to the right. What is it?
-Death”
― Cixin Liu

“What can I do now? What is the purpose of my life? I have four point five billion dollars and an international oil company. But what good is all that? Humans have surely invested more than forty-five billion dollars in saving species near extinction. And probably more than four hundred and fifty billion has already been spent on saving the environment from degradation. But what’s the use? Civilization continues to follow its path of destruction of all life on Earth except humans. Four point five billion is enough to build an aircraft carrier, but even if we build a thousand aircraft carriers, it would be impossible to stop the madness of humanity.”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“El universo es un bosque oscuro. Cada civilización es un cazador armado que recorre el bosque como un fantasma, apartando delicadamente las ramas que le impiden el paso, intentando moverse sin emitir sonido. Incluso respira con mucho cuidado. El cazador debe ser precavido, porque el bosque está lleno de otros cazadores secretos como él. Si da con otra forma de vida, otro cazador, un ángel, o un demonio, un infante delicado o un anciano tambaleante, un hada o un semidiós, solo tiene una opción: abrir fuego y eliminarlo. En este bosque, el infierno son los otros. La amenaza eterna de que cualquier vida que revele su existencia será exterminada con rapidez. Esa es la imagen de las civilizaciones cósmicas. Es la explicación de la Paradoja de Fermi.”
― Cixin Liu, The Dark Forest

“El tiempo no se puede detener. Como si de una hoja afilada se tratase, lo corta todo, blando o duro, sin ralentizar su avance. Nada lo altera ni lo más mínimo, pero el tiempo es capaz de cambiarlo todo.”
― Cixin Liu, El bosque oscuro

“Ло Цзи опустил шторку и забрался обратно в спальный мешок. Он закрыл глаза и попробовал ни о чем не думать. Он хотел не спать, а очнуться ото сна.”
― Cixin Liu, Three-Body Problem Boxed Set

“Einstein is a reactionary academic authority. He would serve any master who dangled money in front of him. He even went to the American Imperialists and helped them build the atom bomb! To develop a revolutionary science, we must overthrow the black banner of capitalism represented by the theory of relativity!”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“Without the fear of heights, there can be no appreciation for the beauty of high places.”
― Cixin Liu, The Dark Forest

“Al final resulta que la literatura es un arte para pervertidos!”
― Cixin Liu, El bosque oscuro

“—Somos soldados, pero ¿sabe cuál es la mayor diferencia entre los soldados de mi época y los actuales? Ustedes deciden sus acciones según los resultados posibles. Pero nosotros debemos cumplir con nuestro deber independientemente del resultado.”
― Cixin Liu, El bosque oscuro

“Something sufficiently wierd must be fishy."
- Da Shi, The Three-Body Problem”
― Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem

“—Cariño, sentir dolor, sentir miedo... significa que continuamos con vida. En cuanto morimos, ya no sentimos nada. Solo hay oscuridad. ¿No te parece mucho mejor vivir?”
― Cixin Liu, The Wandering Earth: Classic Science Fiction Collection

“I won't bring you glory, but I'll give you rest.”
― Cixin Liu, The Dark Forest