On Mo Yan

Chen Zhongyi Trans. Peng Qinglong

Bilingual Classics

On Mo Yan

Chen Zhongyi Trans. Peng Qinglong

It does not necessarily mean that Mo Yan and the like have no personal favor or criteria. In actuality， what they attempt to do is just to select the fi nest from a vast quantity of books. All in all， Mo Yan is one of the best Chinese writers who have numerous merits if we look at his achievements in terms of world literature. I hereby just name a few to illustrate my argument. However， nit-picky criticisms for perfection with good reason might be unavoidable. Moreover， even though the Nobel Prize in Literature is not the only benchmark of literature， the fact that it gains wide attention from the public has promoted the image of Mo Yan as a model with signifi cance and made his works necessary to be interpreted comprehensively.

Mo Yan； collective unconsciousness； imagination； soft fl ank

The Nobel Prize in Literature won by Mo Yan is what Chinese has longed for day and night，the expectation for which is the embodiment of mixed feelings， feelings of going global with eagerness of being understood， recognized， and embraced， as well as unwillingness to remain out of limelight with little confidence and benchmarks in literature. However， when the glittering golden medal was finally conferred，with “bang”， to Mo Yan in“the sound and the fury” by western scholars and media， the mixed feelings are becoming all the more strong， even beyond words to delineate. As a Chinese scholar in literature， I feel a need， in a detached manner and responsible way， to talk about Mo Yan and his works， in particular.

I fi rst met Mo Yan in a day of 1980s. Time elapses in a flash. Though thirty years have passed and I can hardly recall details of the meeting， his stocky shape and unsophisticated smiling face still carve in my mind， as if Mo Yan remains there， never strange to me and forever young. Those who are familiar with him might have such an image of Mo Yan： dignified but not handsome； neat but not luxurious； reserved but not improper； quick-witted but seemingly dull， in addition to his even lower profi le in front of his kinships and fellow countrymen. As for his fiction， brief comments are far from to be adequate.

We may start from the reasons why he is awarded Nobel Prize. On 11 October 2012，Peter Englund， the Permanent Secretary of Swedish Academy announced， both in Swedish and English， that Mo Yan had received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work that “with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales， history and the contemporary”. The “hallucinatory realism” is not “magic realism” in a strict sense，but Chinese media almost unanimously had translated it as the latter. Since the Swedish Academy particularly mentions about the link between Mo Yan and Gabriel García Márquez，we may talk from here of Mo Yan， including his relationship with magic realism and the world literature at large， but what we can do is just to explore a little of the iceberg， because it is a rather large and comprehensive topic.

1

Ever since 1980s when Magic Realism was first introduced into China and gained popularity among readers with the lead of García Márquez， in particular， it has been developed into new variants with Chinese interpretations，the most representative of which is the “Rootseeking Literature”. The term “root-seeking”can be traced back to 1920s and 1930s when a fierce fight between cosmists and nativists were hot on Latin American literary arena. Cosmists claimed that Latin America was marked by diversity， a diversity that determines its embracing-all cosmic spirit. While nativists criticize that the cosmism， an attempt to conceal class contradictions， is actually an argument in its utmost sense about population composition that can hardly explain the complicated social reality of Latin America and its derivative problems. In the eyes of nativists， cosmism is very deceptive， what it embraces is the dominant western culture rather than the Indian civilization， the root of Latin America， which has been castrated and screened by the western culture. This phenomenon makes us think of the arguments emerged at the same period in the Chinese literary world. Cosmists are anxious to imitate western culture indiscriminately， some extremists of whom even dreamed of eradicating Chinese classics and casting Chinese characters away； while traditionalists， especially the diehard ones， cling conservatively to the old system and never give up conventions. To some extent，the two groups are still in deadlock with no sign of winning for either side. The vanguard places the hope of advancing their writings to the world on following the fashion of western countries； while local writers claim that the most provincial should be the most national， and henceforward the most universal. The concept of “root-seeking” was initially coined by the nativists of Latin America， then went through modernism （diversified vanguard intellectual trends）， Indian culture （important data gradually unveiled） and black culture， and eventually prompted the emergence of magic realism. Yet，when surveying this school of literature， we are probably to read such groundless statements as“magic plus reality”， or “the reality itself of Latin America is magic”， which make us completely at a loss. Is there any literature that is not the combination of reality and imagination？ Who makes such an argument that the reality of Latin America is magic （mythological）？ García Márquez ever said： “The magic of Latin America could make the most incredulous lost in wonder.”So he insists on himself a realist writer rather than the representative of magic realism. But can his words be taken seriously？

What I intend to illustrate， by saying so much above， is to point out how Mo Yan understands One Hundred Years of Solitude and the magic realism. In a word， he sees “collective unconsciousness” in One Hundred Years of Solitude and other magic realist works of Latin America. It deposits in national unconsciousness，reverberating the primitive voices. In Asturias’remarks， it is our “third sort of reality” or “the third domain” of reality. In a word， magic reality goes like this： “...an Indian or a mixed blood in a mountainous village relates how he catches a glimpse of a piece of cloud or a giant stone which turns itself into a man or superman. …All these are nothing but hallucination， others may feel ridiculous and unbelievable， but if you live among them， you might sense the power of the story…they can be transformed into reality，or compositional parts of reality”.①M(fèi)ead， Jr.， Robert G. （May 1968）. “Miguel ángel Asturias and the Nobel Prize”. Hispania （American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese）51 （2）： 326-331.Carpentier，from another dimension， takes positive attitude towards Asturias’ remarks that the “magical reality of Carib” is “a magician world only accessible to Quixote and the like”. The “third sort of reality” or the “magical reality” is the“collective unconsciousness” or the “remains of primitive experience” that Lucien Lévy-Bruhl，Carl Gustav Jung and Claude Lévi-Strauss spare no efforts to elaborate. The brilliance of these archetypal literary critics is that the “collective unconsciousness” or the “remains of primitive experience” are not only found to live in primitive men， but also universally generate in and return to literature. The greatness of Latin American magic realism and Mo Yan lies in their unique literary representations of “collective unconsciousness” or the “remains of primitive experience” and its social， historical and cultural milieu or context， revealing the hard reality and mystery of life respectively. It is in this similar but different life and contexts that Mo Yan and García Márquez are spiritually and mutually attracted though never meeting each other.

Mo Yan understands the true essence of it （collective unconsciousness）， though he has never explicitly mentioned it if my memory serves me right. He appropriates it to himself persistently with great dexterity and preternatural swiftness， and even carries it forward by admirably making a hallucinatory or magic“Northeast Gaomi Township”. It is certainly true that he does not accomplish at one stroke. In Red Sorghum - A Novel of China， he merely represents the wild of life. The secret recipe of sorghum wine handed down from ancestors is written mischievously with dramatic coincidence and artistic exaggeration. But “collective unconsciousness” is gradually breeding in Mo Yan’s artistic world， and growing into quick soil （dust） beside the church in Big Breasts and Wide Hips： A Novel. “Shangguan Lu emptied her dustpan onto the exposed surface of the kang，whose grass mat and bedding had been rolled up and put to one side， then cast a worried look at her daughter-in-law， Shangguan Lu， who moaned as she gripped the edge of the kang.②Translator’s note： a kind of stone bed with a stove under it， popular in the cold northeastern China.After tamping the dirt down with both hands， she said softly to her daughter-in-law， ‘You can climb back up now.’”③Mo Yan （author）， Howard Goldblatt （translator）. Big Breasts and Wide Hips： A Novel ［M］. New York： Arcade Publishing. 2012.As such， Shangguan Lu begins to give birth to her eighth baby alone， since her motherin-law is leaving for tending black donkey： “This will be her first foal， so I should be out there giving them a hand.”④Mo Yan （author）， Howard Goldblatt （translator）. Big Breasts and Wide Hips： A Novel ［M］. New York： Arcade Publishing. 2012.then follow woman’s pains in delivery. The succeeding works witness Mo Yan’s continuous exploration in this regard as if once starts he can hardly stop. For example， such imagery as “six metempsychoses”⑤“The cycle of sam.sāra” refers to the theory of rebirth and “cyclicality of all life， matter， existence”.is employed in Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out. The long-established belief in agricultural civilization is obviously projected onto Frog. “Sensei， an old custom in my hometown dictated that a newborn child is given the name of a body part or organ.Nose Chen， for instance， Eyes Zhao， Colon Wu，Shoulder Sun…”①M(fèi)o Yan （author）， Howard Goldblatt （translator）. Frog［M］. New York： Penguin Audio. 2015.The similar conventions like these prevail in China though they vary from one place to another. For instance， boys are probably named as dog， cat， leaf or tree. In Mo Yan’s words， “those who are badly named live long”.②Mo Yan （author）， Howard Goldblatt （translator）. Frog［M］. New York： Penguin Audio. 2015.

From another point of view we can see that Chinese civilization is， in essence， an agricultural civilization. For thousands of years， small-scale peasant economy has long influenced Chinese way of thinking and living， which find best expressions in their upholding of such philosophy in life as “men tilling the farm and women weaving”， “Self-reliance”. Therefore it becomes an ultimate state for most Chinese to pursue a stable and self-suffi cient “idyllic life”. On account of this， there are no other races in the world than Chinese who have so strong attachment to its home and land （Bo Yang’s remarks）. Those who have strong attachment to its home and land are likely to prioritize stability with little spirit of adventure， in this sense， the character of Chinese marked by seeking for stability and peacefulness is distinctly different from that of nomads and cross-border merchants. If surveying our literature， we find the most touching works are nothing but those that delineate homesickness.“When I set out long ago， fresh and green was the willow. When now homeward I go， there is a heavy snow （from The Book of Songs③The Book of Songs is the earliest general collection of ancient Chinese poems.）. ”④Wang Rongpei and Wang Hong： English translation of Chinese Classics《中國(guó)典籍英譯》，Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，2009.“Dew turns into frost since tonight； The moon viewed at home is more bright （by Du Fu⑤Du Fu was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty， having been called the “Poet-Historian”and the “Poet-Sage” by Chinese critics. https：// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Fu.）.”⑥Xu Yuanchong， Lu Peixuan and Wu Juntao： Three hundred poems of Tang Dynasty《唐詩(shī)三百首》，Beijing: China Translation & Publishing Corporation，1988.“Looking up， I find the moon bright； bowing，in homesickness I’m drowned （by Li Bai⑦Li Bai， along with Du Fu， was the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the Tang Dynasty. See footnote 11. https：//en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Li_Bai.）.”⑧Xu Yuanchong： Three hundred poems of Tang Dynasty《唐詩(shī)三百首（英漢對(duì)照）》，Beijing: China Higher Education Press，2000.and “The vernal wind has greened the Southern shore again. When will the moon shine bright on my return？ O when？ （by Wang Anshi⑨Wang Anshi was a Chinese economist， statesman，chancellor and poet of the Song Dynasty. His contribution was especially eminent in poetry. He was traditionally classed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. https：//en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Wang_Anshi.），”⑩Xu Yuanchong： Six hundred Chinese classical poems《中國(guó)古詩(shī)詞六百首（中英對(duì)照）》，Beijing: New World Press，1994.so on and so forth. Ever since The Book of Songs，works about homesickness and nostalgia have been handed down for thousands of years， and its exquisite and delicate descriptions are， to some extent， matchless and unrivaled in the world. Apart from these traditions， China also boasts of Confucian classics， history， philosophy and literature， Buddhism and Taoism， in which such traditional Chinese virtues as humanity， justice，propriety， wisdom and faith are particularly honored， and that characters of being temperate，kind， courteous， restrained and magnanimous are highly valued. In addition， they also imply some crucial philosophical issues of noting of six classics and being noted， interpreting and being interpreted from inside or outside， the profundity and complexity of which make it impossible for us to comment in a few words. However， in the light of the most basic social foundations，that the small-scale peasant economy and each one attempting to be worldly-wise and play safewill make people gradually lose their awareness of ethnics and race towards neighbors. These types of people will not launch revolution or act blindly and rashly unless it is a group rebellion or under the banner of revolution. This is so called“community effect”. The consequence of rash act brings about Fen Shu Keng Ru （burning books and burying Confucian scholars alive①The burning of books and burying of scholars refers to the supposed burning of texts that the emperor regarded as subversive in 213 BC and live burial of 460 Confucian scholars in 210 BC by the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty of ancient China. https：// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_books_and_buryin g_of_scholars.）， Wen Zi Yu（literary inquisition②Literary inquisition refers to official persecution of intellectuals for their writings in imperial China. https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_Inquisition.）， Wen Ge （Grand Cultural Revolution）， change of regime， reconstruction of temples and recreation of broken gods （if circumstances permits， not only China， but also other countries like Germany would act rashly and go crazy…）. This is what makes Mo Yan appear to be natural and unrestrained， but actually deep in grief （even grim and insightful）：foundation of reality.

As such， García Márquez and William Faulkner who fictionalized Macondo and Yoknapatawpha respectively end up in the same way， on account of which， I think， the relationship between Mo Yan and Magic realism is not simply imitating and being imitated but a sort of admirable unacquainted kindred spirits， a tacit understanding in art. It does not need words， even so diffi cult that it is beyond words， as it could be an impulse， an acceptance in subconciousness，something like the relationship between García Márquez and his predecessors Asturias and Juan Rulfo （otherwise he would not repeatedly deny his relationship with magic realism， and admit the magical as the fundamental feature of Latin America reality time and time again）. There is no need for them to assert “collective unconsciousness” either rationally or scholarly，and we also have no reasons to label them as theorists.

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However， it must be stressed that few writers in the world like Mo Yan and his contemporaries are so modest and diligent. They are insatiably avaricious in reading and the number of books they read even shame most scholars in foreign literature. This might be fortunate to the successors， who are， in the meanwhile， compelled to do so with no alternative. But it does not necessarily mean that Mo Yan and the like have no personal favor or criteria. In actuality， what they attempt to do is just to select the fi nest from a vast quantity of books. All in all， Mo Yan is one of the best Chinese writers who have numerous merits if we look at his achievements in terms of world literature. I hereby just name a few to illustrate my argument.

First of all， I have to point out that the world literature is as vast as ocean， what I can do is to take a tiny part of it and express my limited view from general and macro perspective while keeping more specific and concrete works in mind. Speaking from a wider view， the law of the development of world literature manifests itself all the way from the high to the low， degenerating from the metaphysical to the physical， which can fi nd best expressions in the ultimate stark contrast between the ancient classic literature and the contemporary literature. Both eastern and western epics are undoubtedly characterized by the integration of man and nature or the co-existence of man and gods， let alone myths. The striking tendency among the features is our ancestors’imagination of and reverence to gods， heaven and the Way of Nature. But with the advancement ofhumans， especially after the Deity being replaced by the humanism， the liberation of human nature makes literature degenerate vertically from the top to the bottom at an irreversible speed. Up to now， the world literature shows so prominent a feature of physical downturn that materialism （Neue Sachlichkeit） and body writing become ever more popular. The Pure materialism of French Nouveau Roman Fiction and the implication of lower body writing by contemporary Chinese “beauty writers” are the very examples in this regard. For the former we have works represented by Alain Robbe-Grillet and the like. For the latter， numerous writers fall into the category. Not only Wei Hui，Mian Mian and the like are crazy about it， but also some vanguard writers tend to follow their steps， claiming it “under （lower） realism”， which，during 1950s and 1960s， made first appearance in the western “hippie literature” or novels of the Latin American Boom. Now， we have Roberto Bola?o， The Savage Detectives in addition to the well-known Jerome David Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye. At the same time， the world witnesses a tremendous transformation of turning-inside from the outside in literature that was much debated in the modernist period. As we all know， realistic description is almost the common character of classical literature. Aristotle in his poetics explicitly point it out that act is the primary agent of plot and the core of poetry. Friedrich Von Engels’ statements on criticizing realism are also based on typical environments. But as the inside-turning literature gains its upper hand， the realistic description（including such components as plot or the act of character） was gradually replaced by the monologue of inner world. The popularity of stream of consciousness is a manifestation of inside-turning in world literature where characters are degenerating from the great（lofty-minded） to the insignificant， a process of “dwarfing” or “reducing” （weakening） gods or heroes to the commoners. The imagination on gods and genesis in myths represents the reverence of ancestors towards all things in universe. The ancient Greek tragedies are the yearnings for mythologized heroic age. Right after the Renaissance， individualism begins to rise， but literature does not immediately give up its value of conveying truth. It was not until the 20thcentury， especially the modernist and postmodernist periods that individualism and subjectivism started to take the lead in literature. The current cross-border capitalism obviously strengthens its power and promotes the trend to a higher level. Under these circumstances， grand narratives become a talk to oneself， thus the ever larger and broader space that literary characters live in tend to shrink back to a relatively smaller and narrower world. If we may say the ancient myths take the whole universe as its objects， the contemporary literature is likely to target the individual whose space is getting narrow and limited. Milan Kundera ever said， “Don Quixote set off into a world that opened wide before him. The early European novels are journeys through an apparently unlimited world… Half a century after Diderot， in Balzac， the distant horizon has disappeared… Later still， for Emma Bovary，the horizon shrinks to the point of seeming a barrier…In the face of the Court or Castle， what can K. do？ Not much.” Perhaps on account of this， Kafka thinks of Ovidus， his classic metamorphosis and betrayal.

Mo Yan’s fiction represents a sort of tenacious resistance. For instance， he pays particular attention to traditions， embraces the big character I， and lays emphasis on the interior and exterior. He seemingly “copes with shifting events by sticking to a fundamental principle”， but in actuality it is a kind of adherence to traditions in his heart of hearts or in his subconciousness or a type of forward andbackward searching. More specifically， Mo Yan is the only one who persistently “takes roots”among the “roots-seeking” writers. But it does not mean that he is repeating himself. On the contrary， it is the magic code for clergyman to draw inferences （Jorge Luis Borges’ remarks）.①Harss， Luis： Los nostros， Buenos Aires： Sudamericana，1966.And as part of them， writers are all completing the same “book”， which is called by Mo Yan the iconic Book. Mo Yan’s Book may have come to an end （with any of Red Sorghum - A Novel of China， The Garlic Ballads， The Republic of Wine：A Novel， Big Breasts and Wide Hips， Sandalwood Death， Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out or Frog）， or has yet to be fi nished； or what has been done and yet to be done are all different pages of his Book. Mo Yan has some insightfulness into our traditions or the national psyche deeply rooted in countryside， the largest hotbed or medium in China. In addition， his representation of characters is similar to Lu Xun’s tyle，②Lu Xun criticizes the social problems in China with both “sympathetic engagement” and “ironic detachment”. His social commentary are incisive and often characterized by irony and satire.and even outweighs the latter to some extent，though most of his characters in fiction are big character FARMERS. In contrast， we have seen the transformation of world literature from big character I to small character I. But literature has been considered to shoulder a sort of communal，national， even global responsibility of morality and justice which is found in various schools of literary theories spanning from ideas on lofty or sentiments education in the ancient Greek to the statements that writings are for conveying truth in ancient China. Homer's Epic and Indian epics， from different standpoints， advocate the externalized big character I of their ancestors. With the firm establishments of humanism， and liberalism in 19thcentury， the development of world literature gradually tends to represent small character i instead of the big character I， and the increasing tendency of which is well verifi ed in contemporary literature.

Moreover， just as Goran Malmqvist③Nils G?ran David Malmqvist is a contemporary Swedish linguist， literary historian， sinologist and translator. https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ G%C3%B6ran_Malmqvistclaims Mo Yan is a good tale-teller. He is well-grounded in saying so， but I have to clarify two issues. The first one is simple and easy to explain. Mo Yan’s fiction， with regard to its contents and forms， is neither ancient classic novels， nor historical romances in traditional sense， even far from folk legends in general sense. In one word，Mo Yan’s fiction does not focus on displaying characters and their transformations， nor stress on readers’ aesthetics or intelligence. The second issue is more complex and related to the grand context of world literature as a whole. To put it brief， story or plot in the history of world literature shows a tendency of development from the high to the low， but the theme is the other way round. Speaking of story （just take it as the synonym of plot）， we cannot help thinking of the ancient classic fi ction， then， such popular novels as the Kung Fu novels with affected pathos by Jin Rong （Louis Cha）④Louis Cha Leung-yung， better known with the pen name Jin Yong， is a noted Chinese novelist and essayist. Cha's fi ction， which is of the wuxia （“martial arts and chivalry”） genre， has a widespread following in Chinese-speaking areas， including Hong Kong，China， Taiwan， Southeast Asia， and the United States. https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Yong.and the like， the exceedingly sentimental novels with romance by Qiong Yao⑤Qiong Yao （born Chen Zhe on April 20， 1938 in Chengdu， Sichuan） is the pen name of a popular Chinese romance novelist based in Taiwan. Many of her works have been made and remade into movies and TV series. https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiung_Yao.and the similar， and those cheap new Kung Fu novels，new love stories， new bizarre fiction， timetravel novels and TV serials that attempt to earntears of readers or audience. For quite a while，people are keen on talking about concepts and techniques， while putting story aside. On the one hand， literature becomes increasingly theoretical，abstract and “philosophical” propelled by various concepts （sometimes just undisguised ideology or the ideology of anti-ideology）. Kafka， Samuel Beckett and Borges might be the very examples in this aspect. On the other， techniques are promoted to the paramount position； Western fiction flirts with almost all the techniques ranging from Joyce’s Ulysses to Cortázar’s Hopscotch. Besides，Russian formalism， American New Criticism，F(xiàn)rench Narratology and the overwhelming Semiotics are the forces that add fuel to the flame （A Preliminary Examination of Modern Fictional Techniques by Gao Xingjian①Gao Xingjian is a Chinese émigré novelist， playwright，and critic who in 2000 was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature “for an oeuvre of universal validity，bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity.” https：// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gao_Xingjian.reveals a formalism tendency of western novels in the fi rst half of the twentieth century） rather than the intellectual movements arising at the historical moment. Those who are keen on concepts almost make their fiction into something metaphysical. In Mr. Yuan Kejia’s②Yuan Kejia is a Chinese literary researcher and translator. He is famous for translating European and American poetry.remarks， it （modernism） is a one-sided profundity and a profundity of onesidedness. Those who indulge in showing off techniques almost turn their novels into tricks that itinerant entertainers display in streets. As such， people appear not to utter a single word about plot. Conceptualists and formalists work together and sweep all else away as if the key to the success of novels is freshness，strangeness and oddness of concepts and forms. Existentialism， socialist formalism and “Gao Da Quanism”③Gao Da Quan is the pinyin for three Chinese characters meaning high-end， grandiose and comprehensive.must be the outcomes of concepts and the theme-first （subject-first）， even go to extremes， conscientiously making literature marry to the superstructure （at least deconstruct the boundaries between philosophy and literature as well as politics and literature）. To some extent，the prosperity of criticism in the 20thcentury and the talking to themselves of various “post”theories further promote the tendency， though it is done under the banner of deconstruction and relativity （using absolute relativism to take the place of relative absolutism）. In the case of Mo Yan， he does not， as always， give up stories and plots in fiction regardless of fashions，which could be quickly decayed. We cannot ignore fashions， but have to uphold and insist on some traditions. In this sense， Mo Yan is a commendable model.

In addition， Mo Yan’s imagination could be deemed a model to his contemporaries in China， and even in the world at large. Mo Yan’s imagination comes from the grass-root life， more specifi cally from the red sorghum family， the mother with big breasts， to the fellows of republic of wine，from the historical nightmares to the monkeys and frogs. The life-like Chinese historical culture， fellow countrymen， muck and soil are written into literature and elevated to the artistic level. If without going through hardships and tribulations and the gifted artist’s talent， he is impossible to fictionalize and represent the dramatic transformations and complicated reality in his superb artistic skills. Just take Shifu：You'll Do Anything for a Laugh as an example，without rich imagination， awkward humor with a sense of helplessness， and bitter irony， the transformation of the self-employed， developed fi rst from a model worker，④Model worker is a Communist Chinese political term referring to an exemplary worker who exhibits some or all of the traits appropriate to the ideal of the socialist worker. https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Model_worker.then a laid-off， musthave been dull and boring， just like soup with no seasonings.

And still furthermore， Europe， America，Australia and other countries in Asia have undergone or are undergoing tremendous changes through what Naisbitt and Toffler called the Second Wave or the Third Wave. The process of industrialization or urbanization in Europe has been represented in Picaresque fiction and modernist works， the bitter descriptions of which make Márquez， with his conservative， even pessimistic tone， predict the end of humans. Undoubtedly it is an extreme point of view. I am of fi rm belief that China needs great writers who can epically depict our countryside with a highly artistic condensation and an aesthetic exploration， because vast countryside is what our Chinese derive from and rely on， or because we were just farmers， more than half of whom are still farmers， and more importantly， the land that breeds us and Chinese civilization witnesses irreversible urbanization and modernization. As swift as a wink， we have lost sentiments expressed in lines that “Letters from home are worth weight in gold”， “to talk about hometown whomever encounters”， and will lose emotional belongings as implied in that “the moon viewed at home is more bright”， and the ultimate conversion like “What comes from the soil will return to the soil.” The problem is that under the circumstances in which western culture prevails and each one has the right to pursue for the wellbeings of modernization， it is improper for “the civilized” to urge Indians， Moso and Kara①The Moso and the Kara are all ethnic groups still keeping an original lifestyle.to be content with the status quo. In contrast， from the east to the west， the so called civilizers sigh deeply， the so called civilized land becomes a land of wailing and despair. How can they face with such a grave situation and endure such a humiliation？ Isn’t it the greatest absurdity of human nature and the most paradoxical of human beings？

Mo Yan is well aware of these. Almost all his works breed in soil and take roots in soil（this does not necessarily mean he is not familiar with cities， or does not write about cities. On the contrary， he can delineate countryside with more penetration and profundity just because he can make best use of his urban perspective and the distance he keeps from the countryside）. One can make best choice as root-seeking is actually a matter of tactics or consciousness when facing with the relationship between the global and the local， the modern and the tradition. Transparently，Mo Yan represents admirable qualities of Chinese writers who highly value affection and brotherliness and assiduously strive after the goal of making Chinese literature rise again in the world. Just as he expressed his feelings right before winning Nobel Prize through the following lines： “I see the gulls soaring and the spring flood of a long river flowing； I wish a thousand barges vie in speed， cleaving through the surging waves and a strong wind.”

3

Last but not least， we should keep coolheaded though we are only too happy for Mo Yan’s winning the Nobel Prize. After all， Mo Yan is merely one of the greatest writers in China， and even the Nobel Prize in Literature is not supposed to be the exclusive benchmark of literature. Since we have talked too much about the reasons （both literary and non-literary ones） of his success，it is high time we came down to the subject of literature （though it is hard and even impossible to draw a clear distinction between literature and non-literature， for they always go hand in hand）. This might be meaningless to Mo Yan， for he is the “very” one， based on Hegel’s Aestheticsrecognized by the Swedish Academy. As far as I know about him， neither too much， nor too little，Mo Yan would very soon let go of the Prize and continue， as he always does， to write betters books of varied features. Nevertheless， serious and constructive criticisms are not stumbling blocks to writers， though they sometimes appear to be offending and out of place， bringing about a temporary fi t of indignation， similar to the pains suffered from getting the back soaked by a cold splash or swallowing bitter medicine. In the long run， however， they play the role of a spare pair of glasses for writers， occasionally used， but indispensable， which will particularly help to promote the sound development of literature and criticism itself. In this sense， nit-picky criticisms for perfection with good reason might be unavoidable. Moreover， even though the Nobel Prize in Literature is not the only benchmark of literature， the fact that it gains wide attention from the public has promoted the image of Mo Yan as a model with significance and made his works necessary to be interpreted comprehensively. Due to the limit of time and space， I won’t go too far in discussing the issues here， leaving rooms for further exploration. Nevertheless I should be cautious in expressing my opinions， hoping with no harsh or picky tone， to cast new light on the subjects. To be frank， criticism should not be a work done by a “yes-man”， nor should it provoke troubles or challenges just as a hooligan or a woman hysterically shouting and cursing in public. What I refer to as a “soft flank” of a literary work hereby might be merits by others. This is the marvel of literature， and even the most marvelous for classics.

Here I’d like to name a few “soft fl anks” in Mo Yan’s fi ction hoping to generate more wellmeaning criticism as well as counter-criticism.

The first is short of restraint. Taking imagination as an example， Mo Yan’s works，which succeed in rich imagination， fail due to the same reason. Such opinions sound extreme. As the ancient Chinese saying goes， the criteria of right and wrong applied to one thing may appear different when applied to another. Everything presents itself double- or even multi-faceted. So is imagination， the soul of literature. A literary work with no imagination will undoubtedly be reduced to a “chicken rib”， tasteless and boring，or even worse. Mo Yan， however， goes too far in giving free rein to his wild imagination. “Braising the infant” in The Republic of Wine is an extreme example among others. On the one hand， lack of imagination is one of chronic diseases of the Chinese contemporary literature （literature in particular， but not confined to it； the disease，varied in degrees， might penetrate into every corner of the Chinese nation）； On the other hand，whether such a rampant flow of fancy that Mo Yan boasts in his writing is appropriate or not is still subject to further discussion.

The second is his over-done representation of ugliness. The depiction of ugliness， filth，violence， brutality and the unbearable is not rare in Mo Yan’s works. To some extent， ugliness is true of the reality and human nature， but beauty is around us everywhere. Mo Yan does not deny beauty， but he prefers to write in the way a surgeon operates on his patient， with a scalpel rather than a pen in hand， sharp edged， shining，ready to head for the festering sores and tumors，and thus creating a world exclusive of whatever related to beauty. He zooms in on a penalty called “sandalwood death” in his narration， by providing readers with visualized bloody details，cruel and creepy. Along with it there are plenty of descriptions of many other penalties in Mo Yan’s works. “Yama’s Hoop” is one example：“those lovely eyes” of Little Insect （a character in Sandalwood Death）， “so expressive， capable of capturing the souls of pretty maidens， slowly began to bulge in the holes of Yama’s Hoop. Black， white， streaks of red. Bigger and bigger，like eggs emerging from the backsides of mother hens， little by little， until...pop. Then another—pop—and Little Insect’s eyes were hanging by threads on the edge of Yama’s Hoop.”①Translated by Howard Goldblatt. The English edition of Sandalwood Death was published by University of Oklahoma Press on November 15， 2012.Mo Yan’s illustration of unconsciousness of “art” of the executioners of Ling Chi （an execution of slow slicing） goes to every extreme. I once told Bai Yang， one of my old friends， that I intended to compile a book on terminology of Chinese criminal penalties and corporal punishment （which have much to do with Chinese character mentioned above）. Bai Yang praised it as a marvelous idea to prompt self-reflection and self-exploration. I， however，have not pluck up my courage to materialize the project， except for discussing it with lip service with my counterparts and scholars. After all，self-criticism and self-exposure of ugliness need courage. Mo Yan has made it， surely in his own way， thanks to his courage and his inner strength，which leaves me admirably stunned.

The third is excessive straightforwardness. Some readers （including famous writers and scholars） of Cao Xueqin，②Cao Xueqin is a distinguished Chinese writer during Qing Dynasty， whose literary masterpiece， A Dream of Red Mansions， one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature， has earned fame worldwide. Lin Daiyu is the heroine of this novel.ever complain about his verbose writing， saying that they cannot tolerate Lin Daiyu’s sickly sentimentality， or even claiming that they are not fond of A Dream of Red Mansions at all. Mo Yan is different from Cao Xueqin， in that he is tremendously straightforward in a flowing and lucid style to such a degree that he cuts out all superfluous details. Once he puts pen to paper， be it writing of characters， events， affection or sex， words and imagination are streaming out unceasingly like a wild horse without a bridle， never returning back. With a “fl ying-up pen”， in Mo Yan’s words，gurgling out is the depiction with naturalistic touch， though the language might appear coarse and vulgar. The coarseness and vulgarity might in turn help to retain exactly what Mo Yan intends to and bring about the best in each other with the theme or the subject. Cases in point are the detailed depiction of the sandalwood penalty in the Sandalwood Death， the exaggerated description of childbirth （be it of women or of mares） and “Mr. Snow’s Eighteen Caresses”（derived from Louis Cha’s③Louis Cha or Jin Yong is an influential Chinese novelist， whose works are regarded as the finest among all the Chinese wuxia （martial arts and chivalry） novels， and he has an almost unchallenged status in all Chinese-speaking areas， including mainland China， Hong Kong， Taiwan， and Southeast Asia.“Eighteen Stages to subdue a dragon”） in Big Breasts and Wide Hips. Those “soft flanks” mentioned above work together as the key elements constituting a vast expanse of Mo Yan’s fiction and make it prevalent in the world. Consequently， Mo’s fi ction is capable of triggering vibrations in heart and soul while providing sensory stimulation， so much so that some readers claim that they cannot eat after reading his books， or even worse.

The fourth is the tadpole phenomenon. The so-called “tadpole” phenomenon is a last resort since such expressions as “stopping half-baked”，“a tiger with a snake-tail”④It means that something has a fully-prepared opening but weak and poor ending.cannot be applied to Mo’s fiction. To symbolize his works with the “tadpole” is a less-than-ideal alternative if we take the tadpole’s image of a big body with a small and thin tail into consideration. After all，the tadpole phenomenon is not that common， with occasional representation in Mo Yan’s works， and does not offset the insightfulness and integrity of his works. Frog， for example， is a work with profundity and integrity， in which the evil soul of “Auntie”， a village middle-wife livingon providing backstreet abortions， is partially atoned for by some clay fi gurines in the end， the symbolic image of which is naturally associated with， though in an ironic sense， the ancient goddess Nuwa who in Chinese mythology created human beings with clay. With overwhelmingly wild imagination， Mo Yan has penetrated into the deepest part of human nature， demonstrated his ultimate concern for his brothers and sisters，his fellow countrymen. Since “Frog”， “l(fā)ittle child” and “Nuwa” share similar pronunciation in Chinese as “wa”， the clay fi gurines have been endowed with primordial attributes. The novel，however， would be better if it ends at the 2/3 part of the work. The last 1/3 part somewhat resembles the tail of a “tadpole”， with redundant plots through the rest of the story， even though this part might be added purposefully by Mo Yan. Otherwise why would he name the narrator of the story “Tadpole”？ That’s just a joke， which however reminds me of Mo Yan’s remarks on Lonely in a Century. In his view， the last two chapters have “given Márquez away”. In addition，as discussed above， the profound thoughts of Mo Yan as a scholar and thinker together with the charm and strength of characters embodied in his novels have， to some extent， been overshadowed by his un-reined imagination and unrestrained description. For example， the imagery of six metempsychoses in Life and Death are Wearing Me Out does not meet the expectation of fussy readers like me， failing in visualizing the ups and downs of religious belief of the Chinese people （including religion， even it is a rational one） caused by political and historical carnival in the second half of last century in China. （Think about in retrospect the worship of feudalistic superstition and the unbearable memories of socalled “revolutions” afterwards； take a look at the clouds of incense lingering in temples at present.）It makes improper comments on some images or mirror images of “collective unconsciousness”. Let’s see another example. The novel succeeds in attracting eyeball owing to one-after-another reincarnation of Ximen Nao， whose image，however， is thus torn to pieces.

The fifth is the cult of primitive vitality，which can be found in my comments on Gabriel García Márquez. Whether reasonable or not they need to be further explored.

All in all， the so-called “soft flanks”are merely nit-picking in a sense， but this constructive criticism with good reason will be conducive to better understanding of Mo Yan， to a sound development of Chinese literature and criticism， to a fairer assessment of the Nobel Prize in Literature as well as more possibilities for great writers to display brilliance of their fi ction， inspiring readers to more interpretations with divergent way of thinking. In other words， we should not regard literary prize as insignificant， nor should we overestimate the value of it. As for literature， if we say “everyone else is drunk and I alone am sober”， sometimes it just means “I am not the sober”. In fact，literature is actually interpretations of readers from different approaches， methods or stance，since it is rich in contents and comprehensive in forms， with even more multidimensional facets in classic works， just as diversity in life and complexity in human nature， presenting with a whole range from the side， a single peak from the end.

Therefore， I often draw an analogy for literature （criticism included）： If human history is likened to be a long river， literature as well as the people in the circle are wave-riders at best，some taking a glimpse of the scenery along the river， some boating on the water while listening to birds twittering and apes calling on the banks，some appreciating or criticizing their images mirrored in the water， some diving into the river to catch fi shes， crabs and search for shells， some riding on the crest of waves while sailing againstthe current， and some even struggling to dredge or transform waterways （to make them head for a desired destination in line with their aspirations and well-beings）.

From a general point of view， Mo Yan belongs to those who ride against currents or dredge waterways， while I myself is a person who was washed away to the river bank， making a living by repairing tea-ware. It is an out-oftimes livelihood， demanding but not rewarding. Elderly readers should know about this job well. For the generations of my age， the model opera The Red Lantern①M(fèi)odel opera or revolutionary opera are operas which were considered modern and revolutionary in terms of thematic and musical features when compared with traditional operas， and The Red Lantern is one of these model operas. Many of them were later adapted to fi lms.used to be so popular that the peddler’s cries of selling —“grind scissors and kitchen knives” —seem to be still lingering around my ears. More importantly，the way of making a living through “grinding scissors and kitchen knives” does not vanish，but “repairing tea-ware” has been extinct for many years. Generations of the 1960s and the 1970s might have slim chances to hear the long cries of selling， not to mention the groups of the 1980s and the 1990s. As a witness to the gradual disappearance of the trade， my confusion arises from the curiosity about dismantling things.“Repairing tea-ware” indeed baffled me most when I was a child， despite that the idiom “Do not take on the porcelain work without a gimlet at hand” has entered into the Chinese Dictionary，and is still used today. The cries of craftsman or repairman are still lingering around， in thinking of their walking through streets and alleys，carrying all loads on a shoulder. My grandma or a grandma from my neighborhood would open the door or window to invite him in， and took out the leaky kettle or a heap of fragments of a tea bowl， followed by several rounds of bargaining until they made a deal on price with smiling faces. Then Grandma was running to and fro to make dishes and warm a kettle of liquor as if she treated him as the guest of the family；meanwhile， the craftsman immediately picked up the repairing work with the sound of the clinkings of the porcelain and the gimlet. At that time， even in the days to come when I remember，I found it hard to understand the necessity of repairing a tea bowl， if repairing a tea kettle could be reasonable in a sense. Since buying a bowl didn’t cost much， how would grandmas bother making such an effort to have it repaired？The craftsman fi rstly rearranged all the fragments to its original state， marked each of them， and drilled pinholes on the very place of the marks，where he then knocked in the copper nails to have the fragments fixed， and before finishing，he filled all cracks with diluted sand clay. The craft-work was highly demanding for eyesight and patience. Surely a gimlet was indispensable，without which how could it have been possible to drill tiny pinholes in the fragments？ All in all，as far as I can remember， though repairing a bowl was no cheaper than buying a new one， grandma or the grandmas made a serious conspiracy with the craftsmen. Back to the age when I was too young to know the meaning of such Chinese sayings as “the use of the useless” or“chicken ribs”， I did hold much doubt about such superfl uous work. The only thing that touched me was the skills of the craftsman， who was able to restore a heap of broken pieces to a bowl inlaid with tiny copper nails in a short period of time. Such an old bowl， if it is available today， might not be an antiquity of the Ming Dynasty or Qing Dynasty， but a marvelous art work placed on the bookshelf as a decoration for admiration. Up till now， the curiosity in childhood has disappeared，but the puzzle about the repairing work has never diminished in my mind. Strangely enough，it had never occurred to me to ask grandma or the grandmas in the neighborhood： why would they have the old bowl repaired at almost the same cost of a new one？ Possibly， it was out of a belief； possibly， it just followed the tradition. Anyway， such possibilities have become the possibility never to be realized. Back to my trade or the domain of literature， they appear to be useless in the eye of those who are crazy about modernization and keen on the new by rejecting the old. Tracing back to the early days， they were referred to as “the use of the useless” （a view shared by the great names of history， like Zhuang Zi，①Zhuang Zi or Zhuang Zhou was an infl uential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States period， a period which was considered as the summit of Chinese philosophy and also a period which was famous for the thoughts of hundred schools.Wang Guowei，②Wang Guowei （1877-1927） was a Chinese scholar，writer and poet， who has made important contributions to the studies of ancient history， epigraphy， philology and literary theory.Lu Xun③Lu Xun （1881-1936） was a leading fi gure of modern Chinese literature. He was a short story writer， editor，translator， literary critic， essayist， and poet.）； At best， they are no more than a trade： a craft that involves drilling hard into the pieces of a broken bowl， an epitome that constitutes the world of human beings and morals of the time， knocking in copper or iron nails of idealism to have the fragments fixed， and finally with sand clay and adhesives made from painstaking care， fi lling the irreparable cracks， hopelessly but persistently，from the surface to the inside， from selves to others， little by little， never ceasing the work till the death.

（Original Chinese text： Soochow Academic，2013： 1）

【Author】Chen Zhongyi， Professor，Director of the Institute of Foreign Literature，Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， Director of the Chinese Association of Foreign Literature.

【Translator】Peng Qinglong， Professor，Associate Dean of the Institute of Foreign Languages， Shanghai Jiaotong University，Member of the Academic Evaluation of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council.