Ghost Forest Quotes

“Why did I remember only his disappointment in me?
Did I ever get to know who he was becoming?
Did I try?”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“I think that at some point along the way, maybe in that moment, I collapsed proximity with love.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“They left large areas of the paper blank because they felt empty space was as important as form, that absence was as important as presence.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“Trees want to be still, but the wind won't stop blowing. When children When children want to care for their parents, it's already too late.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“I learned that it is important to be true to yourself. Many people do whatever society tells them to do. They’ve lost themselves. I grew up with Confucian values, and they are limiting. I focused only on work and making a living. But I’m old now. Remember not to lose who you are.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“In your love, at last I found my home.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“And she thinks of a Cantonese saying: Trees want to be still, but the wind won’t stop blowing. When children want to care for their parents, it’s already too late.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“Looking up he said to us, I am not simply grinding the ink. When I grind this ink stick, I am clearing my mind. I am preparing for the painting. Sometimes I sit here, just grinding the ink for half an hour, making space in my mind.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“Before age 40 we use our health to make money, but after age 40 money can’t buy back our health. -A Cantonese proverb”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“Before age forty, we use our health to make money. But after age forty, money can’t buy back our health.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“Yat so, so dou mei, The first comb, combs to the end, (May your marriage last a lifetime) Yi so, ji syun mun dei, The second comb, to have children and grandchildren everywhere, (May you be blessed with children and grandchildren) Saam so, baak faat chai mei! The third comb, for white hair and white eyebrows! (May you be blessed with longevity)”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“I think that at some point along the way, maybe in that moment, I collapsed proximity with love. And as I got older, I kept moving and moving—from Vancouver to Providence to London to New York—because whenever I started to feel attached to a place or to people, I wanted, subconsciously, to make sure I would be the first to leave.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“I think he was reaching out for forgiveness then, that day at the hospital, and I didn’t want to give it to him. I didn’t want to forgive him, and now I haven’t forgiven myself for not forgiving him when he needed it. He just wanted forgiveness, and I didn’t give it to him. But can you forgive yourself now? my friend asked. I don’t know. I don’t know how.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“Have you ever said I love you to your parents? I asked. Have you ever said it in Chinese?”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“the artists who invented xieyi painting were scholar-amateurs, and they were not interested in depicting the physical likeness of things. They left large areas of the paper blank because they felt empty space was as important as form, that absence was as important as presence. So what did they seek to capture instead? The artist’s spirit.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“but the point of the proverb is, what you think is bad might be good, and what you think is good might be bad. Choi yung sat ma, that’s what it means.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“When I think of Lunar New Year growing up, I think of the black lacquer box my mom filled with salty watermelon seeds, candied lotus root, and milky White Rabbit candies. I think of sitting cross-legged on the carpet with my sister and laying out our red pocket money.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“She said, Lik bat chung sam—do you know what it means? It means, what your heart wants but you cannot do. It is an uncomfortable feeling. It’s the feeling of wanting to do something and not being able to.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“乖 In my family, the best thing a child could be was gwaai. It meant you were good. It meant you did as you were told.”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so much. —Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest

“Why did I remember only his disappointment in me? Did I ever get to know who he was becoming? Did I try?”
― Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest