Mo Yan [real name Guan Moye] 1956-

Born in Gaomi county, Shandong, Mo Yan comes from a rural background. After working in a factory he joined the PLA in 1976, started writing in 1981 and graduated from the literature department of the PLA Academy of Art and Literature in 1986, and received an M.A. in literature from Beijing Normal University. In 1997 he left the army and became an editor for a newspaper. He has written dozens of short stories and several novels, and is probably best known for his Hong Gaoliang [Red Sorghum] and the film version made of it by Zhang Yimou.

Works available in English:

  • Big Breasts & Wide Hips (Howard Goldblatt). New York: Arcade Pub., 2004.
  • Explosions and Other Stories (Janice Wickeri and Duncan Hewitt). Hong Kong:
       Renditions Paperbacks, 1991.
  • Red Sorghum (Howard Goldblatt). London: Heinemann; New York: Viking,
       1993.
  • The Garlic Ballads (Howard Goldblatt). New York: Viking; London: Penguin,
       1995.
  • The Republic of Wine: A Novel (Howard Goldblatt). New York: Arcada Pub.,
       2000.

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