Prize ‘outside Prize ‘outside expectation’expectation’

Issue.9Issue.97676 Oct. 17, 2012Oct. 17, 2012

Mo Yan in contemporary Mo Yan in contemporary ChinaChina

Group Discussion

General Questions

Detailed Study

Prize ‘outside expectation’

Group Discussion

1. Have you ever read any novels written by Mo Yan? If yes, cay you give us a brief summary of the book you’ve read?

Skimming and scanning: Find the answers to the following quesitons as quickly as possible.

Instruction

1.Why was the Nobel Prize in Literature has always been an aspiration for Chinese writers?

2.How did Lu Jiande comment on Mo Yan’s winning the prize and Mo Yan himself ?

He was surprised about the prize. He thinks highly of Mo Yan for Mo Yan takes critical perspective inside first, starting from criticizing himself instead of the outside world.

Although China boasts a tradition of literature and scholarship, few writers have won international acclaim.

General Questions

3.Where do most of Mo’s story happen?

4. How did many readers get to know Mo?

Gaomi county is where most of Mo’s stories happen. It’s a place that has inspired him throughout his 31-year writing career.

General Questions

.Many got to know of Mo through

director Zhang Yimou’s film, Red Sorghum. It was adapted from his 1986 novel of the same name, bringing to life a visual landscape of red sorghum fields and a fiery setting sun.

5. How did some critics comment on Mo’s works?

6. What did Professor Xiao Ying say about Mo Yan’s works?

Some critics point out that Mo’s works have a tendency toward vulgarity.

General Questions

.He said the award was outside his

expectations, for Mo’s works in his eyes are still short on the idealism of pursuing humanity.

Detailed Study

Read the passage closely and find out the following sentences. Translate the sentences into Chinese.

Instruction

I grew up in an environment immersed with folk culture, which inevitably comes into my novels….

Detailed Study

Procrastination n. 耽搁，拖延

Immerse vt. 沉浸，使陷入Inevitable adj. 必然的，不可避免的

如果他们目前的政策持续不变的话，恐怕战争就不可避免了。

If their present policy is continued, I am afraid that war is inevitable.

Although China boasts a tradition of literature and scholarship, few writers have won international acclaim.

.

在电影行业，吸引力与喝彩在很多方面是比金钱更有价值的硬货币。

Boast v. 夸口说，以拥有…而自豪Acclaim n. 欢呼，喝彩，称赞

Detailed Study

Prestige and acclaim are hard currency in the film business, in many ways more valuable than

money.

For this reason, the Nobel Prize in Literature has always been an aspiration for Chinese writers.

Aspiration n. 渴望，抱负Aspire v. 渴望，立志，追求

Detailed Study

He nurses an aspiration to be a poet.

他心怀当诗人的愿望。

Rice aspired to go to college.

赖斯渴望上大学。

…and said that if there was a prototype, it would be the abandoned “black boy” who….

Detailed Study

Prototype n. 原型；标准，模范

Abandon v. 遗弃；放弃

Don't abandon yourself to despair.They abandoned their car and walked into the village.

不要自暴自弃。他们弃车走路进了村庄。

We haven’t been critical enough of the weakness, dark side and distortion of human nature.

Detailed Study

“I have called on leaders not to take measures that distort trade and push up prices, ” he said

The distortion of the galaxy on the far right, however, is an illusion.

然而，右边那个遥远的星系的变形，却是一个假相。他说：“我已经向各国领导人发出呼吁，不要采取扭

曲贸易和抬高粮价的措施。

Distortion n. 变形，失真，扭曲，曲解Distort v. 扭曲，使曲解

Background information

Biography Mo Yan was born in 1955, in Gaomi County in Shandong province to a family of farmers, in Dalan Township (which he fictionalized in his novels as "Northeast Township" of Gaomi County). He left school during the Culture Revolution to work in a factory that produced petroleum. After the Cultural Revolution he joined the People’s Liberation Army and began writing while he was still a soldier, in 1981. Three years later, he was given a teaching position at the Department of Literature in the PLA Academy of Art and Literature, where he published his first novella, A Transparent Radish In 1991, he obtained a master's degree in Literature from Beijing Normal University.

Background information

Lists of worksFalling Rain on a Spring NightRed Sorghum ClanThe Garlic BalladsThe Republic of WineBig Breasts and Wide HipsLife and Death Are Wearing Me Out

Background information

Nobel Prize in Literature Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has,

in the words of the will of Alfred Nobel produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction" Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, here "work" refers to an author's work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides

who, if anyone, will receive the prize in any given year. The academy announces the name of the chosen laureate in

early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895; the

others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Peace Prize and Nobel Prize in Physiology

or Medicine.

Words Practice

Glossary

Words Practice Directions: Fill in the blanks with the following words.Controversy arrest remind obsession

scorn validationControversy arrest remind obsession

scorn validation1. So she simply welcomed Tim and reminded him of the last

time they had met.

2. He has an enthusiasm for art, to the point of obsession in

my opinion.

3. The mountains are the most arresting feature of the glen.

4. Jeez, if they love us like they say, I would hate to see

their scorn

5. It said it would turn the results over to a third party

for validation.

1. So she simply welcomed Tim and reminded him of the last

time they had met.

2. He has an enthusiasm for art, to the point of obsession in

my opinion.

3. The mountains are the most arresting feature of the glen.

4. Jeez, if they love us like they say, I would hate to see

their scorn

5. It said it would turn the results over to a third party

for validation.

1. Work with your partner and find out more about Mo Yan and his works.

Assignment

Assignment