Ken Long

“Their war,” Master Wu goes on, “was about who was in control. Ours was about staying alive, of course, but it was also about choice. Very much the same thing. We teach gong fu so that you have a choice. Otherwise . . . the man in charge has all the power. Yes? And . . . what if he is not a man? A hundred people all bowing down to a child who does anything he pleases. No responsibility. Just power. No wisdom. Just actions. As if the throne were empty. China had too many child-emperors already.”
― Nick Harkaway, The Gone-Away World