Understanding Turkey's 'inner differences'

Hailed by Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk as an essential force in Turkey's musical, cultural and political scene, O. Z. Livaneli hates to be introduced as a politician.

"Artists reveal the cockles of their hearts, so that others understand, while politicians conceal them," the Istanbul-based multi-talented artist said at the launch of the Chinese translation of his international bestseller Bliss, in Beijing's 798 Art District on Wednesday.

The 64-year-old prominent left-wing and social-democrat politician and former member of the Turkish parliament, believes that the best way to understand a different culture is through its literature.