Shanghai Bund, 1940

Ask him to write about war, and he writes, “Soldiers are afraid to die,” because he’s afraid to die himself; Ask him to write about a great era, and he doesn’t know what “great” means, or what an “era” is. All he knows is fearing death and falling in love. Only when he’s in love can he forget to be afraid of death. That’s what “great” means to him.