sidewalk bagatelles

'your majesty! though you are contemptible and hateful, your common people are still willing to give you some advice. you're getting old. you can stop a man from using his pen, but you can never stop a man from using his memory. one of these days a genuine historian, perhaps an intimate of yours, will expose you for what you are... people will understand why i won't sign my name to this.'

- anonymous wall poster, shanghai 1957