MO Yan (originally named GUAN Moye) was born in 1956. His name means “don’t speak” in Chinese. He became a writer in the People’s Army, but now lives from his writing. Considered to be one of the greatest contemporary Chinese novelists, MO Yan is the author of about ten novels and more than seventy short stories. His first novel, A Transparent Radish, was published in 1981. It immediately gained recognition, but his fame came with Red Sorghum – which was adapted to film in 1986. The writer deals freely with subjects such as sex, power and politics, describing with humour the social reality of the present-day China.

Source: http://www.europalia.eu

Editor: Wen Yi