Mo yan, the chinese author of red sorghum and the garlic ballads, won the nobel prize for literature on thursday. If his fiction has a unifying preoccupation, it is the ravages of chinas 20thcentury. China celebrated its first nobel prize winner after the author mo yan was awarded the 2012 medal for literature. The award is often given to writers who forcefully oppose political repression.
Mo yan is a pen name that translates to dont speak. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Mo yan wins nobel prize in literature financial times. Chinese writer mo yan wins nobel prize in literature. Mo yan wins nobel prize in literature 2012 books the. Stockholm ap chinese writer mo yan won the nobel prize in literature on thursday, a somewhat unexpected choice by a prize committee that has favored european authors in recent years. Guan moye better known by the pen name mo yan is a chinese novelist and short story writer. Set in rural china in the 20th century, it tells the story of. The first chinese citizen ever to win the nobel prize. China has its first literary nobel laureate as the prize has gone to 57yearold novelist mo yan.
Mo yan wins nobel prize in literature the bookseller. The nobel prize is a swedenbased international monetary prize. Mo yan, wadegiles romanization mo yen, pseudonym of guan moye, born march 5, 1955, gaomi, shandong province, china, chinese novelist and shortstory writer renowned for his imaginative and humanistic fiction, which became popular in the 1980s. On 11 october, when the nobel committee announced that they had decided to award this years nobel prize for. Mo yan is one of chinas most celebrated and widely translated writers, and this morning it was announced that he had won the nobel prize for literature. He was a solider in the peoples liberation army after the cultural revolution. When mo yan won the nobel prize for literature in 2012, the judges must have known about frog, the socially conscious novel he published in. Chinese writer mo yan wins nobel prize in literature the.
The 2012 nobel literature prize laureate, mo yan of china receives applause from academy members after speaking during the traditional nobel lecture friday dec. Nobel winner mo yan discusses his literary influences and. Although mo is the first chinese citizen to win the nobel, other authors of chinese descent have also been. Chinese author mo yan has been awarded the 2012 nobel prize in literature for work which with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary. The nobel prize in literature 2012 was awarded to mo yan who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary. China view takes a trip to mos hometown of pingan village to find. Mo yan, the chinese writer, has won the nobel prize in literature 2012 for works of hallucinatory realism that merge folk tales, history and the contemporary. Image caption mo yan is the authors pen name, which means dont speak. Like olympic gold medals, they are viewed as signs of the worlds. Frog is another display of mo yans attractively daring approach to fiction. Why critics of chinese nobel prizewinner mo yan are just. Chinese writer mo yan is the winner of the 2012 nobel prize in literature. Mo yan wins nobel prize for literature south china.
When chinese novelist mo yan accepted the nobel prize in literature earlier this week, the relationship between literature and politics attracted much attention. Mo yan chronicles the sweeping history of modern china through the lens of th. Mo yans writing can be lyrical and elegiac, earthy and absurd. Chinese author mo yan has been awarded the 2012 nobel prize for. Mo yan has written 11 novels, and several novellas and short story collections. Mo yan, a pen name, meaning dont speak, for guan moye, is the first resident of mainland china to be awarded the nobel prize in literature. Chinese writer mo yan received the 2012 nobel prize in literature at the stockholm concert hall in sweden on monday this week. Mo yan 2012 nobel prize in literature winner glocal. Red sorghum 1986 the garlic ballads 1988 thirteen steps 1988. Mo yan a chinese author who has captivated his countrymen by intertwining fantasy and gritty everyday life won the nobel prize in literature thursday. An old custom in my hometown dictated that a newborn child is given the name of a. Nobel laureate mo yan takes swipe at critics in lecture. Chinese writer mo yan at the frankfurt book fair in.
Image caption mo yan is known as a man who shuns the limelight. Chinese novelist mo yan wins the nobel prize for literature. Mo yan, critic of the onechild policy, wins nobel prize. On october 11 peter englund, permanent secretary of the swedish academy in stockholm, announced that the nobel prize in literature for 2012 will go to the fiftysevenyearold chinese writer guan moye, better known as mo yan, a pen name that means dont talk. The announcement marked the first time a resident of mainland china had ever received the award.
I was born on the 2nd of february 1955 into a peasant family in the pingan village production brigade of the heya peoples commune, northeast gaomi township, shandong province, the peoples republic of china. Sensei, an old custom in my hometown dictated that a newborn child is given the name of a body part or organ. He said he was overjoyed and terrified, englund told swedish television. Paris the swedish academy announced on thursday that it had awarded the 2012 nobel prize in literature to the chinese author mo yan, the cultural high point of a week of accolades to scientists, writers and peacemakers.
The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of swedish chemist and inventor alfred nobel. Yan is said to make use of magical realism and satire in addressing chinas recent history. Chinese author mo yan, who left school for a life working the fields at the age of 12, has become the first chinese citizen ever to win the nobel prize in literature, praised by the swedish. The decision last week to award the nobel prize in literature to chinese author mo yan has not been the cause for universal celebration. It was first awarded in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace in 1901. The youngest of four children, i have two older brothers and a sister. Mos nobel biography notes that his most recent work, wa, highlights the harsh reality of the coercive family planning in china. Nobel permanent secretary peter englund picked out the garlic ballads, first published in english in 1995, as mo yan s gateway book.
Mo yan, whose real name is guan moye, means dont speak. Mo yans hallucinatory realism wins literature nobel. Mo yans pen name means dont speakhis real name is guan moyeand the writer who has become the first chinese citizen to win the nobel prize for literature is. Beijing novelist mo yan, whose popular, sprawling, bawdy tales bring to life rural china, won the nobel prize for literature thursday, the first time the award has been given to a chinese who. The name is said to have originated in advice his parents gave him as a schoolage boy during. Mo yans nobel prize in literature appears to be a nod to the hungry literary tastes in modern china and could help spark more freedom.
Biography ym mo yan 2012 nobel prize for literature. While many including chinas communist party celebrated their countrymans receipt of the nobel prize for literature, others criticized the winner, mo yan, for failing to be innovative or independent. Since my father and his brother had not yet divided the. Since 1957, there have been thirteen chinese including chineseborn winners of the nobel prize. Chinese author mo yan became the first chinese citizen in the swedish academys 111year history to win the nobel prize in literature when he was awarded the prestigious prize thursday.
Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. He joined the peoples liberation army pla in 1976 and began writing stories in 1981 under the pseudonym mo yan, which means dont speak. Mo yan is a pen name that means dont speak a name he adopted because his parents, who raised him during the. In 2012 the swedish academy announced that mo yan had received the nobel prize in literature for his work that with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history, and the contemporary.
He was awarded the 2012 nobel prize in literature, making him the first. China erupted in something close to a national celebration for the writer mo yan, just two years after the government condemned a nobel peace prize for the dissident liu xiaobo. Coetzee, the 2003 nobel laureate in literature, mo yan revealed publicly tuesday his mood change after winning his. Mo yan wins worlds highest honour for literature with writing rooted in chinese tradition and influenced by western peers. Beijing novelist mo yan, this years nobel prize winner for literature, is practiced in the art of challenging the status quo without offending those who uphold it. Chinese author mo yan wins nobel prize for literature. Nobel permanent secretary peter englund picked out the garlic ballads, first published in english in 1995, as mo yans gateway book. Chinese writer mo yan wins the nobel prize for literature. Margaret hillenbrand assesses the mythic vision of mo yan, the winner of the 2012 nobel prize for literature chinese writer mo yan at the frankfurt book fair in 2009 photo. Mo yan is the pen name of the chinese novelist guan moye, who is one of the most. Chinese author mo yan wins 2012 nobel prize in literature. Share mo yan is the authors pen name, which means dont speak chinese author mo yan has been awarded the 2012 nobel prize for literature. Mo yan, who said he was overjoyed and scared at winning the prize, is an outspoken critic of the onechild policy.
Stockholm chinese writer mo yan was awarded 2012 nobel prize in literature in stockholm concert hall in sweden on monday the nobel prize award ceremony for 2012 started at 4. Although mo is the first chinese citizen to win the nobel, other authors of. A prolific author, mo has published dozens of short. Mos call at a journalists prompting for the release of nobel peace prize laureate liu xiaobo was regarded by some as too little, too late for an establishment figure who, despite the.
How did chinas mo yan win the nobel prize for literature. Mo was awarded the 2012 nobel prize in literature guan moye attended a primary school in his hometown but dropped out in the fifth grade. Academy in stockholm, announced that the nobel prize in literature for 2012 will go to the. Peter englund, head of the swedish academy, said mo was at home with his dad when he was told of the award. This is a complete list of mo yan s works published as a collection in 2012 in china after mo yan received the nobel prize.
1220 149 378 1410 445 1350 805 71 1325 210 1280 1268 919 6 961 1067 461 1366 252 1306 39 656 816 1289 1190 387 85 702 127 156 1248 786 366 946 1365