Reading Notes W17: Mo Yan, Part X

With this final reading section we delve into late 20th century with writer Mo Yan. Mo Yan is a Chinese writer whose writings have permeated throughout his country during a period of cultural significance. He was also highly praised for his work within his first novel as explained in the following portion from The Norton Anthology of World Literature vol. F:  "Mo Yan burst onto China's literary scene in 1986 with the publication of his novel Red Sorghum, which won high critical praise and was subsequently made into a film directed by Zhang Yimou. Since then he has published a host of novels and short stories, many of which have been translated into English by Howard Goldblatt. . ." (1188). After the success of his first novel, he would continue his literary career as eluded to in the quote above, creating various works in multiple literary categories. Many of them have been transcribed to many languages including English. Working within various styling's, he has become associated with a certain literary movement that gained traction in the 80's as cultural identities continued to shift in China: "Many critics describe Mo Yan's work as exemplary of the literary movement "Roots Seeking." This movement arose in the 1980's, one of the many waves of response in China to the collective experience of swift modernization in the preceding decades" (1188). Within the movement it directly speaks to a generation seeking comfort, refuge and knowledge from previous generations traditions and widespread culture.

This anthology provides a story from Mo Yan that directly ties to the movement he has become so synonymous with. This is encapsulated in the following  passage describing this fact: "The story selected here, "The Old Gun" (written in 1985), is in many respects a typical Roots text, since it portrays a younger generation trying to reconnect with its ancestors. Narrated in the third person, the story revolves around a boy and his relation to his dead father through the trope of the 'old gun'..." (1188). Contrary to his popularity some of his work's themes receive criticism in the form of excessive masculinity, which in turn becomes parody in the eyes of some.