👤Author
Name: Shiqian ZHOU
Affiliation: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Contact: u3605552@connect.hku.hk
📄Article
Citation Recommendation: Zhou, Shiqian, “Navigating Literary Controversies: A Rereading of Mo Yan’s Frog in the Global Literary Landscape”. Synthesis, 3 / 2024: 146-161.
Pages: 146-161
Language: English
URL:https://synthesis.ro/pdf/2024/3/9_Zhou.pdf
Abstract
The essay examines the controversies surrounding Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize. Western critics argue that Mo Yan does not deserve the prize because of his ties with the Chinese Communist Party. The essay critiques the Western assumption that Chinese writers must openly express political opinions despite censorship. By using close reading analysis, the essay aims to understand how Mo Yan creates a fictional space to discuss sensitive topics by analysing his novel Frog. It suggests that Western ideals of democracy and freedom influence the assessment of Mo Yan’s authenticity, overlooking the Chinese political context that limits free expression. The essay argues for a more inclusive global literary sphere while emphasizing close reading over Franco Moretti’s distant reading. This approach reveals how Mo Yan’s Frog navigates censorship through literary devices and a narrative subtly criticizing state policies such as the Cultural Revolution and the one-child policy. Even within a restrictive environment, Mo Yan constructs an autonomous literary space in his fiction, as Pascale Casanova proposed, which allows him to discuss sensitive issues without overt political alignment.
Key-words: world literature, Mo Yan, censorship, literary autonomy, peripheral literature
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- DOI: 10.59277/synthe.2024.3.146
- https://doi.org/10.59277/synthe.2024.3.146