The Chinese Capitalist

This is my philosophy about everything: the most important thing is to live your life the way you want it. I don't believe in a certain way of thinking for everybody.

As long as you're comfortable with the way you live and don't feel that something has been taken from you, your life should be OK. Of course, I still feel the differences between how I grew up thinking and living and the life I have now.

There's an expression in Chinese that says when you go somewhere, you must adopt the customs. If you have money, you’re a capitalist - that’s the way some people think.

So, OK, I'm a capitalist. But I still feel as though whatever money I have in my pocket - the money I can see and use-is what I have. And it's definitely all I need. The money I can't see, the money in the bank or the numbers on a check, just gives me a feeling of success. I think most people with a lot of money are like that.

No one making millions can say he really needs that money to live. That's not what it means. It is a way to measure your worth in your job. If my next contract with the Rockets is for more money that what I'm making now, it's because I'm worth more to them.

I still think of myself as a blue-collar worker. I sweat for my paycheck. If that makes me the best-known capitalist in China today, I don't have a problem with that.

The Dream

My dream is to have a home in Hawaii for when I'm not playing. I've never been to Hawaii, but I like the way it sounds. My house would have two floors, and all the furniture would be Scandinavian.

I like the color of it. It makes me feel at peace and comfortable. The house would have a swimming pool, too. It would be a place where I can always feel quiet. I can’t remember the last time I felt like that, completely quiet, other than in my dreams.

My dream is to go to the South Sea of China on vacation. I went there once as a boy. It's so beautiful. I had no money then lots of time. Now I have money but no time to go. That's life.