Nobel laureate Mo Yan shares work with fans in Taiwan

In an audience of over two thousand people, Guan Mo Ye, or better known by his pen name, Mo Yan, spoke to Taiwanese dignitaries, the Buddhist master Hsing Yun and to his fans telling the audience that the Nobel Prize was not his best reward.

Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan took a trip to Taiwan's Buddhist temple Fo Guang Shan on Sunday to speak at the Hsing Yun World Humanities Forum. Mo Yan has been sharing his work with people around the world for decades, and now he's doing just that in Taiwan.

In an audience of over two thousand people, Guan Mo Ye, or better known by his pen name, Mo Yan, spoke to Taiwanese dignitaries, the Buddhist master Hsing Yun and to his fans telling the audience that the Nobel Prize was not his best reward.

"The Nobel Prize is definitely a dream comes true for any writer, but it is not necessarily the ultimate dream.The Nobel Prize may be the most prestigious award for writers to win. But it will be the best reward for any writer if his work continues to be read by generations of readers. " Mo Yan said.

And Mo Yan may be getting his wish because in the audience were also many young people who enjoys his work.

"What he has achieved may seem so out of reach for us, yet he stands in front of us today so closely. I feel so inspired that I want to better myself." Ashley Yu, High School Student said.

Others felt close to the Chinese writer because of shared values and culture.

"Mo Yan strikes me as a filial person. We are of the same race and share the same cultural roots. I don't see that we are different." Chen Li-Feng, Reader said.

Mo Yan's works often talked about Chinese history such as the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression. Much Chinese history can be found in works such as in one of his most popular works, Red Sorghum Clan.

"I think his novel (is) making us understand China more. It's what happened there in those turbulent years after 1949 or even before 1949." Ping Lu, Literary Critic said.

At the speech, Mo Yan also told the audience how his dreams about being a writer had to deal with food. Having grown up poor in Shandong Province and having becoming a farmer at the age of 11, Mo Yan hardly got to eat what was then considered a speciality, dumplings.

"When I was around 15 or 16, my neighbor told me this writer from Shandong Jinan wrote a book and earned hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he was able to have dumplings for every meal every day. I told myself if one gets to have dumplings everyday, he would have had a life better than that of a king." Mo Yan said.

Well after writing many successful books and getting the Nobel Prize, you can be sure Mo Yan is getting plenty of dumplings these days and with his latest book, "Frog" getting the Mao Dun literature award, he will also probably continue collecting more awards along the way.