Mo Yan wins the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature. (From http://www.nobelprize.org/)
Chinese writer and ECNU part-time professor Mo Yan won the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature on Thursday for works which combine "hallucinatory realism" with folk tales, history and contemporary life grounded in his native land.
The prize, awarded by the Swedish Academy, is worth 8 million crowns ($1.2 million). With Mo's winning, the Nobel Prize for literature saw its first winner of Chinese nationality since its establishment in 1901.
The award citation said Mo used a mixture of fantasy and reality, historical and social perspectives to create a world which was reminiscent of the writings of William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. At the same time, he found a "departure point in old Chinese literature and in oral tradition", the Academy said.
Mo Yan is a pen name which means "Don't speak", and his real name is Guan Moye. Mo was born into a peasant family in Gaomi, a village in eastern Shandong province, in 1955.
Mo is best known in the West for "Red Sorghum". His masterpieces also include "Big Breasts and Wide Hips" and "The Republic of Wine".
The writer was one of the favorites to win the award this year, according to British bookmaker Ladbrokes, along with Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Mo's final winning of the award also makes ECNUers happy and proud as the writer has a close tie with the university.
Mo Yan accepts the certificate of being employed as a part time professor of ECNU on May 16, 2012.
In ECNU, many scholars have been showing strong interest in Mo and his works for quite a long time. Vice Chairman of ECNU Council & Vice President Lin Zaiyong, one of the first scholars making researches on Mo and his works in China, published an article on Mo’s works in Literary Critics, a well-known academic journal of literary criticism, early in 1986. Prof. Yang Yang of ECNU’s Department of Chinese Language & Literature is a well-known expert on Mo and Mo's works, and he chief-edited the part of Mo Yan in Series Study of Contemporary Chinese Writers published by Tianjin People's Publishing House in 2005.
Not only scholars, many other teachers and students also show great interest in this writer both for his works and his special relationship with ECNU.
Mo, the world famous writer was honored as a part time professor of ECNU this year and lectured in ECNU some times, which gave many ECNUers chances to chat with him about writing and life value. And Mo himself also cherished his tie with ECNU. “My elder brother graduated from ECNU’s Department of Chinese Language & Literature, which makes ECNU an ideal university for me since I was a teenager.”Mo once said.
Mo Yan's inscription for Xintan Gaoyi, a series forum of prestigious scholars in ECNU.
Written by: Liu Jinyu
