Mo Yans Life and Death Are

Wearing Me Out

Lee Gyu-il
Professor, Department of Chinese Language, Yongdong University

O
n October 11, 2012, the winner of the Nobel Prize in
literature was announced. The most promising candidates
had been Korean poet Ko Un, Japanese novelist Haruki
Murakami and Chinese writer Mo Yan (). In the end, Mo
Yan emerged as the winner.

A history novel with hallucinatory realism

Of the 30 or so works that Mo Yan has published, Life and Death Are
Wearing Me Out ( ) suddenly became a best seller after he received
the Nobel Prize. Because it is his masterpiece most suitable for his being the
winner of the prize: it merges folk tales, history and the contemporary.
The story, which begins on January 1, 1950 and ends on January 1,
2001, covers 50 years of history, after the establishment of New China in the
authors hometown Gaomi County, Shandong Province. Naturally, the plot
contains major modern historical events, such as land redistribution, Peoples

138
POSRI Chindia Quarterly W i n t e r 2 0 1 2
 :: Culture

Commune, co-ownership, and Cultural Revolution. Translated, the main

characters names are liberation, collaboration, favorableness, openness, and
reform. One unusual aspect of this novel is that it is narrated by an animal:
at first, a donkey, then a pig, and finally, a dog, all of which are
reincarnations of the protagonist Ximen Nao. Through this interesting set-
up, Mo Yan depicts the lives of Nao, a landowner in Gaomi County, who is
executed by firing squad during land reform; his wife and children living in
Communist China after his death; and his grandchildren facing new
capitalist China. Mos book is undoubtedly a story of hallucinatory realism,
both contemporary and historical in subject matter.

A chapter novel
The storys hallucinatory setting is not limited to the transmigration of
souls. Ximen Nao, born as a pig, leads a herd of pigs into a mountain and
builds his own power, and eventually fights against humans. The plot seems
a little far-fetched at times, perhaps as though the author could not control
the accelerating outpouring of his words.
Mos novels are basically tales. In form, Life and Death Are Wearing Me
Out is a chapter novel (). A chapter novel is a type of traditional
Chinese novel in which each chapter is headed by a couplet giving the gist
of its content. This kind of novel was in vogue during the Ming and Qing
Dynasties. Many Chinese classics, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms
(), Water Margin (), Journey to the West (), and Dream of
the Red Chamber (), are all chapter novels. For example, Romance of
the Three Kingdoms begins with Chapter 1, titled Three Heroes Swear
Brotherhood in the Peach Garden; One Victory Shatters the Rebels in
Battlegrounds, and ends with Chapter 60.
Why did Mo Yan adopt such an old form of fiction? Was it just for the
experience? Or was it driven by his love of the Chinese tradition? The latter
explanation seems more plausible. A chapter novel is basically a

139
Winter 2012 POSRI Chindia Quarterly
 storytellers script. In the past, good storytelling in front of an audience
gathered in the market used to be a way of making money. The battle of red
cliffs () and the story of Wu Song () were popular subjects for
stories. Through a long process of embellishment, and contents being added
and deleted, the scripts eventually became novels.
After dropping out of elementary school, Mo Yan worked at a plant. He
wrote his first novel in the military. His desire for storytelling turned him
into a novelist. His career reflects a stubborn obstinacy befitting his country
background.

Millets LAnglus? Nowhere to be found

Residents of Gaomi County in Shandong Province are all farmers. If
the revolution and politics had not shaken them up, things would have
remained the same. After the county is liberated, a large landowner named
Ximen Nao is executed by shooting. His first concubine, Yingchun, is then
married off to Ximens farmhand Lan Lian, and his second concubine,
Qiuxiang, to Huang Tong, the chairman of Ximen Village Production
Brigade Revolutionary Committee. Nao had brought up a stray child
named Lan Lian, who later takes in Naos concubine and son after his
death. Kindness and generosity are thus intertwined with resentment. After
becoming the head of the Revolutionary Committee, Naos son Jinlong
oppresses his new father Lan Lian on the ground that he has chosen
individual farming rather than joining the commune. All villagers are
awash by the chaos of reform. In the village, the spirit of reverence and
gratitude for labor and harvestembodied in Millets LAnglusis
nowhere to be found. The powerful wield their power freely, and family
lineages are mixed in the village. As the reform and opening up begins
after the death of Mao Zedong, Jinlong makes a big fortune as a successful
businessman. Villagers are swept by the wave of capital. Everyone has
changed except Lan Lian, who continues to cultivate his one-point-six-acre

140
POSRI Chindia Quarterly W i n t e r 2 0 1 2
 :: Culture

of land. Hong Taiyue, who is buried in his memories of the revolutionary

past, is just the village madman. Relationships are complicated by the
tangled history of generosity and resentment.

A novelist who only writes novels

Which character most closely resembles the author? Ximen Nao whose
soul continues to transmigrate with the tenacity for ownership and betrayal?
His son Jinlong who actively follows the changing time? Lan Jiefang who
gives up everything for his belated but true love? I believe that Lan Lian,
who bears the closest resemblance to Mo, might be his favorite character.
Even though Lan was talked about by people and his family members
turned their back, Lan stubbornly treads the path of farming and dies as a
farmer without compromising to the changes in society.
The authors pen name, Mo Yan (), means dont speak. After his
novel, Red Sorghum Family (), was adapted into a film and
translated into many languages, he joined the ranks of world famous writers.
However, he was barely moved by his success. Although many in the media
criticized him for being a government mouthpiece after the announcement
of Nobel Prize for literature, he remained indifferent to the criticism, like the
stubborn farmer Lan Lian in his novel. In fact, he is said to have expressed
hope for the release of jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo (), who won the
2010 Nobel Peace Prize. If thats the case, his remark about Liu probably
represents his true sentiment. For he is a man who said he planned to use his
prize money to move to a house big enough for his family of five. He is
indeed a novelist who only cares about writing novels. He gives off the
fragrance of Tao Yuanming ()s chrysanthemum.

141
Winter 2012 POSRI Chindia Quarterly