Jonathan D. Spence > Quotes

“If you want to really know something you have to observe or experience it in person; if you claim to know something on the basis of hearsay, or on happening to see it in a book, you'll be a laughingstock to those who really know.”
― Jonathan D. Spence, Emperor of China: Self-portrait of K'ang-Hsi: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi

“The written word has its limits and its challenges, for the primal sound in the whole world is that made by the human voice, and the likeness of this human voice must be rendered in dots and strokes...Yet I never forget that the voice, too, is important...Don't mumble or hesitate. Speak...in a loud voice, clearly, and without fear.”
― Jonathan D. Spence, Emperor of China: Self-portrait of K'ang-Hsi: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi

“Seek joyfulness when you can, for seeking joy leads to an auspicious atmosphere.”
― Jonathan D. Spence, Emperor of China: Self-portrait of K'ang-Hsi: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi

“Shelves full of books are all around me. Opening the different volumes I take a look, and find the pages covered with writings in unknown scripts — tadpole traces, bird feet markings, twisted branches. And in my dream I am able to read them all, to make sense of everything despite its difficulty.”
― Jonathan D. Spence, Return to Dragon Mountain: Memories of a Late Ming Man