In China, we don't consider someone truly beautiful until we have known them for a long time, and we know what's underneath the skin.
When two people first meet, they can only have a very ordinary kind of friendship. But when you begin to understand each other, when you get close to them, you discover that you're suddenly eager to know him or her even better.
I don't care if you love me or not. I'll love you anyway.
Men are different. When they are in love they may also have other girlfriends.
People who trust me will not be swayed by what's been said about me, and for people who don't, no amount of good reports will persuade them.
They're not willing to admit that I've also shed blood and tears and often paid dearly for my success. This makes me feel extremely sad.
Most people spend their whole lives looking for the right job. There are others who never get an opportunity to do work that fulfils them.
I want, through my roles, to express the parts in the hearts of Chinese women that they feel unable to let out.
I suspect people always thought I had a boyfriend, so nobody came after me.
I enjoy being an actress a lot, because I can feel different women's lives. I have the chance to feel like a geisha one day, and on another day maybe a scientist. That's the interesting part for me. My profession has helped me to grow up.
There are films you see that only reach your eyes. Then there are films that you can watch... that reach down to your throat, or reach your heart. "In the Mood for Love," though, reached all the way to my belly.
Whatever you see - any good results - are all from the pressure.
A movie has its own fate, which often doesn’t depend on the performances of the director and actors.
Obviously I'd love to work with any of these great directors because every time I've worked with them I've gained a tremendous amount as an actor. Each director has his own way of pushing you towards improving yourself.
I'm not really interested in politics, because I think it's just too removed from my own life. If there's a war, though, or a disaster, I want to know what's happening.
It's not that I wanted to be an actor; it's that I didn't want to be a dancer! I was trained in traditional Chinese dance, and after working so hard it seemed unfair to just disappear into a group.
That whole environment was just incompatible with my beliefs and my personality. It was a dark time for me.
From beginning to end I worried that Ang Lee wouldn't be satisfied with my work. So I worked as hard as I could to earn his trust, because you only get a chance like this once.
The atmosphere at my school was very competitive. Young girls were competing with each other every day for status, for leadership, for the affection of the teachers. I hated it.
Actually I ran away from school when I was 13. No one could find me, and the police were called. I was just hiding in a little thicket of grass at my school, and went to sleep.
I wanted to become a kindergarten teacher like my mother.
I knew nothing about martial arts. And I don't really like it! But in the film, I not only had to pretend that I knew all about it, I had to be the best at it. That was very difficult.
Today's China is not in the least shut out from the rest of the world. Trends come to us from all over the world. And the Internet is really developed in China. We get news from all over the world.
Chinese women are much more modest than American women when it comes to clothes. We tend to show less flesh.
I was really interested in geishas' work, and wanted to meet real geishas.
