Mo Yan's Noble Prize sparks discussion about Chinese literature

Mo combines hallucinatory realism with folk tales, which is more appealing to the taste of Western readers than the styles adopted by many of his peers, such as Yu Hua, Su Tong and Wang Shuo, said Zhang Hongsheng, dean of the Literature Department of the Communication University of China.

However, "Nobel Prize is not the sole standard to judge the achievements of a writer. Prizes presented by different organizations adopt various evaluation criteria," said Xu Yan, a literature critic.

The quality of a literary work is always judged by the topic, language, structure, the way of story-telling, imagination and some other significant elements. People's tastes vary amid different social background and cultural mechanism, she added.

Chinese contemporary literature, which loomed in 1949, has seen a trend of diversification since the country adopted the market economy in 1992.

"The prize is a positive sign that the West begins to recognize Chinese literature. But it's an acknowledgement of individual efforts, and Chinese literature revival still has a long way to go," said Zhang.

Xue called upon Chinese writers to produce quality works with international perspectives. Good literature should reveal social problems and people's concerns while create the beauty of art.

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"The society should provide favorable environment for the growth of Chinese writers," he stressed.

Seeking increasing world attention requires Chinese writers to maintain the national characteristics and uniqueness. "Chinese elements are the last to lose in successful writings," Zhang said.

China's book market has witnessed booming sales of Mo's masterpieces over the past days.

Zhicheng Classic Bookstore, registered at T-Mall of China's largest online retailer Taobao.com, said 1,500 volumes of Mo's latest novel Frog were sold out in six hours after Mo won the prize. The store has received 1,200 reservation orders by 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The book, about China's "one child" policy, also moved up to 14th from 560th on the list of most populous book at Amazon.cn within two days.

Cao Yuanyong, deputy editor-in-chief of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing Group, said the company is producing the new edition of a collection of Mo's 16 works, which is expected to refill the empty shelves of many book retailers in a week.

Editor: Shi Liwei