The news that Chinese writer Mo Yan (莫言) won the 2012 Nobel
Prize in Literature comes as a surprise, and yet it was to be
expected. Given the rise of communist China, it is an indication
of how important a Nobel winner’s country is. The only thing is,
Mo Yan is more affiliated with China’s power system, than that
oppose to it, unlike the kind of writers who usually win the
Nobel literature prize. The Swedish Academy, whose members
choose the Nobel literature winner, praised Mo Yan, saying that
he had merged folk stories, history and modernity through his
combination of fantasy and realism, and compared his writings to
those of William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. However,
there is another side to Mo Yan that is pertinent to him being
awarded the Nobel Prize. China has festooned him with praise
following the announcement of the prize. Compare this with
Chinese officials’ vitriolic reaction to the announcements of
Gao Xingjian (高行健) being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature,
or the Dalai Lama and Liu