"A hero who does all kinds of bad things on the edge of morality" The man is old, but the book is still young "Red Sorghum" Mo Yan

Mo Yan's most representative early work is "Garlic Ballads in Heaven", which was adapted from a real event in the early days of reform and opening up. At that time, thousands of farmers responded to the call of the county government to plant garlic sprouts, which led to the sluggish sales of garlic sprouts. However, the county government turned a deaf ear to it, resulting in the "Garlic Sprout Incident" that shocked the whole country that year. After reading the news, Mo Yan put aside his planned novel "Red Sorghum" and wrote this novel "On Behalf of the People" to reflect the weakness and hardships of the "common people" at that time.

[2007] Red Sorghum Family Author: Mo Yan | Publisher: 洪範書店

"Red Sorghum" is a novel written by Mo Yan. The book is divided into five chapters, namely "Red Sorghum", "Sorghum Wine", "Dog Road", "Sorghum Funeral" and "Strange Death". These five chapters were first published as novellas. "Red Sorghum" was first published in the third issue of "People's Literature" in 1986, and won the "National Novella Award" in 1987; "Sorghum Wine" was first published in the seventh issue of "Liberation Army Literature and Art" in 1986, and "Dog Road" was first published in the fourth issue of "October" magazine in 1986; "Sorghum Funeral" was first published in the eighth issue of "Beijing Literature" in 1986; and "Strange Death" was first published in the sixth issue of "Kunlun" in 1986. In the spring of 1987, these five novellas were integrated into the novel Red Sorghum Family and published by the PLA Literature and Art Publishing House. In 1987, it was adapted into a movie by director Zhang Yimou, and won the Golden Bear Award at the 1988 Berlin International Film Festival.

"Red Sorghum" is a classic work that shows the tenacious vitality, bloodiness and national spirit of the Gaomi people during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Mo Yan used his own family members and historical figures and events from Gaomi in Northeast China as prototypes to adapt this work into a historical novel or a root-seeking literature. The story tells the background of China's Anti-Japanese War and the Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party from 1930 to 1940. It tells the story of what happened to my grandparents and parents' generation in Gaomi Township in Northeast China. It uses war as the background, magical realism as the technique, and crazy and tense text to tell the hymn of life that took place in Shandong. In Gaomi, China, the armed forces led by "Grandpa" suppressed the Japanese army. Some of them were spontaneous rebellious forces, and some were chaotic and undisciplined local leaders. They had no initiative to save the country and the people. The reason for their resistance came from the struggle for their own survival. The novel provides a rich space for imagination, natural background and historical scenes for the primitive vitality and wildness. There are not too many positive images in the whole novel. The character of "Grandpa" is both a "bandit" and an "anti-Japanese hero". The wildness of the bandit and the blood of the hero make the character fuller and more real, restoring a real historical scene. The people of Red Sorghum who lived in this sea of ​​blood faced many hardships such as hunger, poverty, hatred and death, which inspired their high fighting spirit and displayed their vigorous vitality, free personality and beautiful love.

In the novel, Mo Yan has meticulously depicted almost all the war scenes, regardless of their size, and even when people and wild dogs are devouring corpses, he uses a lot of brushstrokes to show a series of bloody scenes with corpses everywhere. In these encounters of flesh and blood, Mo Yan depicts a field of sorghum as red as blood, and the whole world seems to be blood red. With this carnival-like language and imaginative brushwork, the novel creates a world of Red Sorghum that is on the edge of ethics and morality. It depicts a kind of bandit-like hero who does all kinds of bad things but also serves his country. They love each other and fight bravely, which is full of the atmosphere of the times that is both rebellious and full of vitality.

The entire "Red Sorghum" is full of symbols and metaphors. The boundless sorghum is a metaphor for the indomitable spirit of life, and is like a symbol of the Chinese national spirit; the red color strongly shows the meaning of life, symbolizing birth and death, and evoking the restlessness and cruel emotions of life. The warm and tragic red color runs through the whole book, from the red sorghum described as a sea of ​​blood in the opening to the "pure red sorghum" emphasized at the end of the novel. "Pure-bred red sorghum" is a metaphor for the ancestors who are full of wild vitality and primitive desire, while "hybrid and inferior sorghum" is a metaphor for the atrophy of primitive vitality and alienation of the descendants. Every character and picture in the book is full of profound meaning.

The sorghum field that gave birth to red sorghum is the spiritual home of the Chinese people. It has broken through the shackles of humanity that has been suppressed and destroyed for thousands of years. What permeates this land is the surging vitality and the fearless and free pioneering spirit, which is an important spiritual gene of the Chinese nation's character. The soul and life full of romantic passion and rebellious spirit are roaring in that red sorghum field. Mo Yan created a world of red sorghum with his beautiful handwriting.

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Mo Yan's speech at the Nobel Banquet at Stockholm City Hall on December 10, 2012.

Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am a farmer's son from the faraway Dongbei Township of Gaomi, Shandong, China.

Standing in this world-renowned hall and receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature seems like a fairy tale, but it is an indisputable reality.

The experience of more than a month after winning the award has made me realize the enormous influence and unshakable dignity of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

I have been watching everything that happened during this period of time.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand the world, and it is also an opportunity to understand yourself.

I am fully aware that there are many writers in the world who are qualified or even more qualified than me to receive this award;

I believe that as long as they keep writing, as long as they believe that literature is the glory of man and the right given by God to man."He will set a crown of beauty on your head and give you a diadem of honor." (Proverbs 4)

I am well aware that literature has little impact on the world's political disputes and economic crises, but its influence on people is long-lasting.

When literature exists, we may not realize its importance, but without literature, human life will be vulgar and barbaric.

Therefore, I feel honored but also heavy-hearted for my profession.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the members of the Swedish Academy who have stood firm in their beliefs.

I believe that there is no reason that can move you except literature.

I would also like to express my highest respect to the translators from various countries who have translated my works.

Without you, the concept of world literature would not exist.

Your work is a bridge for human beings to understand and respect each other.

Of course, at this moment,

I will never forget the support and help from my family and friends. Their wisdom and friendship shine in my works.

At the end, I would like to express my special thanks to the folks in my hometown Gaomi, Shandong, China.

I was, am, and shall be one of you;

I would also like to express my special gratitude to the great land that gave birth to me and raised me.

As the saying goes, "The land and water nurture the people."

I am a storyteller brought up by this land and water, and all my work is to repay your kindness.

Thank you everyone!

Source https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2012/yan/speech/

（Speech content text is translated from Chinese.）

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About the Author

Mo Yan born in Gaomi, Shandong Province, and his original name was 管謨業.

Mo Yan's pen name means "Don't Talk"

He has written more than 20 collections of long and short stories, including "Wine Country", "Big Breasts and Wide Hips", and "Dreams and Bastards".

Mo Yan's literary works feature sensitive themes, sharp reflections, unique style, incisive language, wild imagination, and magnificent narratives.

Heavily influenced by magical realism, he often uses dazzling, complex and violent text to bring readers into a disturbing yet beautiful world of words.

Born in February 1955 in a peasant family in Shandong Province

Joined the army in 1965 and began writing in 1981 while serving in the People's Liberation Army.

Graduated from the Literature Department of the PLA Academy of Art in 1986

In 1987, he became internationally famous for the film "Red Sorghum"

In 1991, he received a master's degree in literature and art from the Lu Xun Academy of Literature, Beijing Normal University.

In 2012, he became the first Chinese to win the Nobel Prize in Literature

His works have been praised as "combining folk tales, history and the contemporary in a magical realist way"

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Source Eslite Online／Nobel Prize