When I first came to America, you know, I would look at the newsstands and see the women on the magazine covers. I had never seen anyone smile the way these girls smile! It’s like they have nothing to worry about! – Anchee Min
The self was a very strange concept to me until I came to America, and my child was born with that entitlement, and that just thrilled me. – Anchee Min
Of course I have the license to make up things, but I think a lot of what’s written about China is misleading, and most Americans don’t know much about China, in-depth, even though China is such a crucial business partner, rival, whatever. – Anchee Min
I understood that without English I would never get far, so my dream was to become a receptionist, and so I started to learn English from watching ‘Sesame Street.’ – Anchee Min
There have been 50 or 60 books written about Empress Orchid, but none of them bothered to really examine the period in China when she lived. I was taught that she was evil; it’s in all the textbooks. – Anchee Min
No matter how American I become, I’m considered part of the Chinese community by my own family. – Anchee Min
My goal was to do anything that would lead to a job. I know that writing would not lead to a job. It’s too fancy for me. My biggest goal was to be an office receptionist, answer phones. I didn’t expect to go beyond that. – Anchee Min
There are a lot of things that immigrants, especially Chinese-Americans, want to share with their children, but there are a lot of things they don’t want to share. – Anchee Min
When Chinese get together – what’s buried stays buried. We don’t even discuss our embarrassing early days struggling in Chicago. – Anchee Min
