Lian Hearn quotes:

Like young fern shootsmy child's fingers curled.I did not expect,in the fifth month, frost.

But just as the river is always at the door, so is the world always outside. And it is in the world that we have to live.

..while I was happy enough to pray to any god, knowing that they were simply different faces created by men, of one indivisible truth.

Don't you know the man whose life you spare will always hate you?

How was it possible for the world to be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time?

I believe the test of government is the contentment of the people.

It's what you do to yourself when you go mad with rage. You have no idea how much you can hurt yourself with your own strength.

The less people think of you, the more they will reveal to you or in your presence.

When illusions are shattered by truth, talent is set free.

Death comes suddenly and life is fragile and brief. No one can alter this either by prayers or spells.

...What does the blessing of heaven mean? We know the kirin is just an animal, not a mythical creature." It has become a symbol now.... That is the way human beings deal with the world.

I miss the days when I was alone with my characters and no one else knew them except me.

I am not made for despair

It's like a spell. It's so strong I can't fight it. Is love always like this?

She entered a state where prayer and poetry became one and the everyday world seemed full of holiness and significance.