I've discovered that I value simplicity above all in dressing. I don't like anything I wear to be too complicated or fussy.

For myself I don't like the geisha look. It's like a mask.

I wanted to become a kindergarten teacher like my mother.

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.

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.

Zhang Yimou is always going to need young, pretty girls for his films. But I don't really concern myself with what Zhang Yimou's next starlet looks like.